Pakistan’s health minister said that the country received the first batch of coronavirus vaccines on Monday, with Beijing donating more than half a million Sinopharm shots to its key ally. Doctor Faisal Sultan stated that a military plane carrying the shipment from China landed in Islamabad.
Sultan added, “the first batch of vaccine has arrived! Grateful to China and everyone who made this happen.” Moreover, the footage circulating on social media and news channels showed a forklift unloading vaccine boxes from the army aircraft.
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Sinopharm is a Chinese company that has developed two of the country’s major coronavirus vaccines to have been rolled out worldwide, alongside Sinovac’s shots. Besides, the phase three trials of the CanSino vaccine are also continuing in Pakistan. Last month, Islamabad had authorized the emergency use of AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, and Sinopharm vaccines.
As of Monday, the health officials in the South Asian country have recorded as many as 546,000 confirmed coronavirus infections; and Monday’s delivery of shots marks the first shipment of vaccines to the population of 220 million. According to the official data, over the last two weeks, more than 11,000 people have died, and new infections continue to rise at a steady pace.
As per the federal government’s vaccine distribution plan, more than 400,000 front-line health workers fighting the pandemic outbreak in the beleaguered country remain the priority. After that, the shots will be provided to elderly citizens, who face a higher risk of fatality from the respiratory disease.
In January, Pakistan’s foreign minister said that the country is due to receive additional 1.1 million vaccines from China by the end of February. However, it remains unclear whether the incoming batch will contain the doses from the same company or CanSino.
While talking to an international news agency, Shah Mehmood Qureshi maintained that Beijing was considering starting the production of the CanSino vaccine in Pakistan, albeit phase three trials ensure efficacy and safety. Apart from that, the South Asian nation has secured a supply of 17 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines. Nearly 6.8 million of these vaccines are due to arrive in Pakistan by the end of next month.
