Punjab will soon buy 1m doses of COVID-19 vaccine: Dr Yasmin Rashid

• Punjab to buy 1 million doses of coronavirus vaccine, says Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid.
• Dr Rashid said a technical advisory group had been constituted under Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Special Secretary Babar Aman to buy coronavirus vaccines.
• The group will share its recommendations within two days.

LAHORE: One million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be purchased by Punjab soon after approval by the cabinet, says Dr Yasmin Rashid, the province's health minister.

She was chairing on Wednesday a meeting at the Civil Secretariat to review the status of vaccine procurement and preparation. The Punjab health minister said that local preparation of the vaccine will be possible between six and 10 months.

Dr Rashid said a technical advisory group had been constituted under Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Special Secretary Babar Aman to buy coronavirus vaccines. The group will share its recommendations within two days.

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She informed that consultation with stakeholders was underway, including professors from the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS).

"Local preparation of vaccine may take 6 to 10 months time," she added. Dr Rashid said that the specialised healthcare and medical education secretary had already met various stakeholders, including the livestock department for this purpose.

The Punjab government is utilising all-out resources to control the pandemic, she said, calling on stakeholders to play an active role in controlling the coronavirus pandemic in the province.

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Dr Yasmin said that the vaccination process of elderly citizens was underway smoothly and the Punjab government was controlling the pandemic under a defined strategy.

She sought people’s cooperation by following the coronavirus standard operating procedures and highlighted that under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Punjab would overcome the pandemic spread.