The Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of National Health Services, Dr. Nausheen Hamid, in a statement on Thursday, informed that the government has finalized procurement orders for the COVID-19 vaccine, with the first shipment to reach Pakistan by the end of this month.
Although the NHS secretary did not name the country linked with the procurement order, experts suggest that it is the Sinopharm vaccine manufactured in China.
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Dr. Nausheen Hamid further added that the government is currently working on a database comprising frontline healthcare workers’ data. She further informed that in the first phase of the vaccination drive, all frontline workers will be injected with the vaccine free of charge.
Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry also mentioned procurement plans for the Chinese vaccine in December 2020.
کابینہ کمیٹی نے فیصلہ کیا ہے کہ ابتدائ طور پر چین کی کمپنی سائنوفارم سے ویکسین کی بارہ لاکھ Doses خریدی جائیں گی جو 2021 کی پہلی سہ ماہی میں فرنٹ لائن ورکرز کو مفت مہیا کی جائیں گی، پرائیویٹ سیکٹر اگر کوئ اور بینالاقوامی طور پر منظور شدہ ویکسین امپورٹ کرنا چاہےتو وہ بھی کرسکتا ہے
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) December 31, 2020
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His statement read, “initially, 1.2 million doses will be purchased from Sinopharm.”
He affirmed the Cabinet’s viewpoint on the matter since the special committee in-charge of delegating the procurement process approved their decision to purchase the COVID-19 vaccine from China.
