Sindh to receive corona vaccine first batch on Feb 1st: sources

KARACHI: The government of Sindh has placed its order for the COVID-19 vaccine, sources at provincial health department disclosed on Monday.

“The first batch of the vaccine will reach Karachi on February 1st, while vaccination of the healthcare workers will begin in the first week,” sources said.

Sindh’s health ministry had earlier wrote a letter to federal government seeking permission for the province to import coronavirus vaccine.

It is to be mentioned here that Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has recently said that China will provide 500,000 shots of its Sinovac coronavirus vaccine to Pakistan by January 31.

After the announcement of Pakistan’s foreign minister, a spokesperson of China’s foreign ministry said that the Chinese government will provide a batch of Covid-19 vaccine to Pakistan as aid and will “actively coordinate with the relevant Chinese enterprise to speed up export of vaccines to Pakistan”.

“Since the outbreak of Covid-19, China and Pakistan have been working together to overcome difficulties,” the spokesperson said in response to a question.

It is pertinent to mention here that after the clinical trial, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) approved AstraZeneca and Sinopharm’s vaccines for emergency use in the country.

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said on Saturday that Pakistan will approve the third Covid-19 vaccine in the coming days.