Pakistan signed an agreement with Pfizer on Monday under which it will receive 13 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine during the course of this year.
According to a statement issued by Pfizer, the agreement was signed by Pfizer Pakistan and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to supply 13 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (BNT162b2).
Pfizer Pakistan Country Manager Syed Mohammad Wajeehuddin in a statement said, “We are deeply honoured to work with the Pakistani government and to marshal our scientific and manufacturing resources toward our shared goal of bringing a Covid-19 vaccine to the people of Pakistan as quickly as possible.”
“In the face of this global health crisis, Pfizer’s purpose — breakthroughs that change patients’ lives — has taken on even greater urgency. Our hope is that our vaccine will help make this happen,” he added.
Chief Business and Chief Commercial Officer at BioNTech Sean Marett also thanked the Pakistani government for its support and putting trust in their ability to develop a vaccine that, they believed, had the potential to help address this global pandemic threat.
“Our goal remains to deliver a global supply of a well-tolerated and effective Covid-19 vaccine for many people around the world, as quickly as we can,” Mr Marett said.
Both Pfizer and BioNTech have set a manufacturing target of more than three billion doses of the vaccine globally by the end of 2021.
On the other hand, at least 27 people succumbed to coronavirus over the past 24 hours, said the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday.
The NCOC said the country reported 663 new cases of the deadly virus, adding that the positivity rate stands at 1.69 per cent. The virus has so far claimed 22,034 lives in Pakistan, while the total number of confirmed cases in the country stands at 949,838.
