Shipment of COVID-19 vaccine from China reaches Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: A special flight of PIA carrying 1.55 million doses of vaccine from China has landed at Islamabad airport, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) said on Sunday.

The shipment of Sinovac corona vaccine arrived in Islamabad on board a special Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight, the NCOC stated.

The NCOC said that Pakistan has purchased the vaccine from China’s Sinovac and another two to three million doses of vaccine will reach Pakistan in the next week.

“China has been a time-tested friend and it is taking measures to ensure an uninterrupted vaccine supply to Pakistan,” the NCOC said.

The provinces and other federating units will be provided the vaccine according to their requirement, the NCOC stated.

All preparations are complete to supply vaccine to the provinces, the NCOC further said.

In a bid to stem speculations regarding the shortage of COVID vaccines in the country, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan said that they currently have over 1 million doses of the COVID jabs in stock.

In a social media statement, Dr. Faisal Sultan said that other than the availability of over a million doses, they expect new batches of doses between 20 to 30 June.

He said that Pakistan would be receiving 1.55 million doses on 20 June, 2.5 million jabs on 22 June, and two to three million vaccines in addition to 400,000 Pakvac to be received between 23 to 30 June.

“Any pressure in the system and local distribution issues will be eased by Monday or Tuesday, inshallah,” he said.

A shortage of corona vaccine recently reported in Punjab, Islamabad, Karachi and other parts of the country resulting in Sindh and Punjab’s announcement of vaccination holiday on Sunday (today).