Pressure on coronavirus vaccine supplies to ease next week: Dr Faisal Sultan

• Dr  Faisal Sultan says Pakistan has a stock of more than a million vaccines.
• Says nearly 8 million vaccines would arrive by the end of the month.
• 12.9 million vaccine doses administered so far in the country (including both partial and fully vaccinated people).

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Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said Saturday the pressure on the country's coronavirus vaccine stock would ease beginning next week.

Dr Sultan, in a tweet, said 12.9 million cumulative vaccine doses have so far been administered in the country (including both partial and fully vaccinated people), with 226,000 inoculations on June 18, 266,000 on June 17, and 416,000 on June 16.

The premier's aide on health said Pakistan currently has a stock of more than a million vaccine doses, while the government anticipates nearly eight million vaccine doses to arrive in the country by the month's end.

As many as 1.55 million doses would arrive on June 20, 2.5 million jabs on June 22, while from June 23-30, 2-3 million doses along with a raw material to produce 400,000 PakVac vaccines would reach Pakistan, he said.

Sindh to keep vaccination centres closed this Sunday

Earlier in the day, the Sindh government, keeping in view the available stock of the vaccine doses, decided to keep all vaccination centres closed this Sunday (June 20).

This was decided in a meeting of the Provincial Task Force on Corona, chaired by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, with provincial ministers in attendance.

According to a statement released by the Sindh government, the committee was briefed on the pandemic situation and the shortage of vaccines across the country, which has gotten serious in the last few days.

The meeting was told that so far 3,243,988 doses of vaccines have been received. Of them, 2,873,857 were utilised and only 370,141 were left.

The meeting was also informed about the vaccines which will be provided to Sindh in the coming days, a break down of which is given below:

• 1.5 million doses of Sinovac will be received on June 21,
  
• 700,000 doses of Cansino on June 23,
  
• 400,000 doses of PakVac on June 23, 
  
• and the Russian Sputnik V vaccine will be available in the last week of the current month or in the first week of July.

Vaccine stock dries up in Lahore's expo centre

Meanwhile, the coronavirus vaccination stock has completely dried up at Lahore's Expo Centre, a day after sources at the Punjab health department had informed Geo News that only four facilities were administering vaccines out of 23 centres.

Today, as per Geo News, the doors of hall number three of the Expo Centre were closed to the public after stocks depleted.

After an announcement was made that the centre is out of vaccines, citizens started to wait in front of Hall No. 3, at which the rescue personnel requested them to turn back.

Those aspiring to travel abroad have been asked to visit the facility after a week.