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Pakistan to receive second batch of Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine soon

By
Yasir Habib Khan

March 05, 2021

Pakistan launched its coronavirus vaccination drive on February 2. Photo: Geo.tv/ file
  • Second batch of 500,000 doses of China's Sinopharm vaccine arriving in Pakistan soon
  • Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi says it will be used for healthcare workers and senior citizens
  • Sinopharm, developed by a state-run pharmaceutical company in China, has shown to be 79% effective

Pakistan will be receiving a second batch of 500,000 doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine soon, officials confirm.

Last month, China had donated the first tranche of 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm jab to Pakistan.

On Tuesday, while talking to reporters at the 70th anniversary of Pakistan-China ties, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced China will again be gifting Pakistan a batch of 500,000 doses of the vaccine. “The vaccine will be used for our healthcare workers and our senior citizens,” he added.

Read more: Pakistan to receive more than 10m free coronavirus vaccines from COVAX

Dong Wenli, press attaché at the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, told Geo.tv that both governments are in the process of finalising details, adding that the Chinese government “want to finish it [the preparations] as soon as possible.”

Another Chinese official in the political section, Bao Zhong, also confirmed the news.

Separately, Sajid Shah, a spokesperson for the ministry of national health, added that they were aware of the developments and will make the information public very soon.

Read more: No side effects of COVID-19 vaccine, Pakistani frontline health workers say

Pakistan launched its coronavirus vaccination drive on February 2, after receiving the first batch of the Sinopharm vaccine. In its first phase, it has been vaccinating frontline healthcare workers. The campaign will soon be extended to include citizens over 65 years of age.

Sinopharm, developed by a state-run pharmaceutical company in China, has shown to be 79% effective.

Besides the delivery from China, Pakistan is also on the list to receive 17,160,000 doses through the global COVAX platform.