Coronavirus: Pakistan gets 1.24m AstraZeneca vaccine doses under COVAX

Vaccine centres to stay closed only on first day of Eidul Adha, health ministry spokesperson says

Amina Amir

July 17, 2021

A vial labelled AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine placed on displayed EU flag is seen in this illustration picture taken March 24, 2021. Photo: Reuters — A vial labelled "AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine" placed on displayed EU flag is seen in this illustration picture taken March 24, 2021. Photo: Reuters

Another consignment of AstraZeneca vaccine arrives in Pakistan under COVAX.
Ministry of Health spokesperson Sajid Shah confirms consignment containing 1.236 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine delivered to Islamabad.
Gives an update on NCOC's decision regarding vaccination centres during Eid holidays.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan received 1.24 million more doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine under the COVAX programme Saturday.

A consignment containing 1.236 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine reached Islamabad onboard a foreign airliner, Ministry of Health spokesperson Sajid Shah confirmed.

The first shipment of the British coronavirus AstraZeneca arrived in Pakistan on May 8, according to a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

The first consignment of the vaccine included 1,248,400 doses of the vaccine. It was brought under the COVAX facility.

Pakistan was supposed to get the first tranche of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine via COVAX in March, but supply was delayed after the Serum Institute of India (SII) diverted supplies to meet its domestic needs, officials said.

So far, Pakistan has received three consignments of various coronavirus vaccines under the COVAX programme apart from this recent one. They include 1.62 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 2.5 million doses of Moderna.

COVAX has pledged free COVID-19 vaccines for 20% of Pakistan's population.

Vaccination centres to stay closed only on first day of Eidul Adha

Vaccination centres across the country will be closed only on the first day of Eidul Adha, the Ministry of Health spokesperson said, giving an update on the National Command and Operation Centre's decision regarding vaccination during Eid holidays.

Vaccination will continue on other days of Eid holidays, Shah said.

He added that the NCOC has also changed the schedule for the second dose of the vaccine

The number of days after which you can get your second dose have been reduced, the health ministry official said.

For the Sinopharm vaccine, the second dose will be available after 21 days and for the Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines, it will be available after 28 days.