ISLAMABAD: Pakistan likely to receive consignments of various Covid vaccines in June with over five million doses, quoting sources, ARY News reported on Monday.
A PIA plane landed at Islamabad airport yesterday with about 500,000 Sinovac Covid vaccines, sources inside the health ministry confirmed the development.
The new consignment of Covid vaccines, was shifted to the office of the federal Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), from where the vaccine will be assigned to various vaccination centers.
In first 10 days of the next month the shipments of over 3.5 mln doses of the vaccines expected to reach Pakistan, which includes the batches of Sinovac, Sinopharm and CanSino vaccines, sources said.
Pakistan will likely to receive two consignments of COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX including Oxford AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines, according to sources.
A shipment of one million doses of Chinese made Sinopharm vaccine, purchased by Pakistan, will reach the country this week, sources said.
COVAX will also provide AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines in the beginning of June, according to sources.
Recently a special flight carrying the shipment of 100,000 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine landed in Pakistan. It was the second shipment of COVID-19 vaccines Pakistan received from COVAX as the first stock of Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine had arrived in the country earlier in May.
The country will receive second shipment of 12,38,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine in June. COVAX yet to inform about the quantity of Pfizer vaccine and a final date of delivery of the vaccine batches, health ministry sources said.
The health authorities have finalized arrangements for storage and transfer arrangements of the Pfizer vaccine, sources said.
“Ultra cold chain refrigerators have been arranged for storage of Pfizer vaccine, which could store the vaccine at minus 80 degree centigrade,” sources said.
According to sources, Pakistan has arranged 11.6 mln doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far.
