The US President, Joe Biden, has approved to provide 2.5 million doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine to Pakistan.
While addressing a press conference, White House’s Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, said “thanks to President Biden’s commitment to end the pandemic, 2.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine will be shipped to Pakistan.”
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The announcement comes a day after overseas Pakistanis protested and took control of a Mass Vaccination Center (MVC) in Islamabad’s F9 area. Thousands of overseas Pakistanis from all over the country had arrived in Islamabad to receive Coronavirus vaccines of Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
The EU and some Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia do not recognize COVID-19 vaccination certificates of Chinese vaccines. Travelers are required to provide vaccination certificates of either Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, or AstraZeneca.
On the other hand, five Chinese COVID-19 vaccines have been approved for use in different countries including Pakistan. Two vaccines have been developed by Sinopharm while one each by Sinovac, CanSinoBIO, and Anhui Zhifei Longcom. Sinopharm and Sinovac have also received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the World Health Organization (WHO).
However, recipients of these five Chinese vaccines are not allowed to enter the EU and some countries in the Middle East.
Pakistan has mostly been using Chinese vaccines of Sinopharm, Sinovac, and CanSinoBIO. Only a limited number of doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are available for use among specific groups in the country, preventing thousands of expats from getting to their workplaces abroad.
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Besides, the Health Ministry is also directly negotiating with COVAX, a global initiative aimed at equitable access to Coronavirus vaccines led by GAVI, to procure an “unspecified number” of Moderna’s vaccine.
Last week, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) secured 13 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine directly from the New York-based pharmaceutical company.
As internationally approved COVID-19 vaccines continue to arrive in the country, overseas Pakistani will be vaccinated with them on a priority basis to enable them to depart for their workplaces abroad.
