Federal Planning Minister and head of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Asad Umar on Thursday said that the Pfizer vaccine has been reserved for Hajj pilgrims, people with work visas and students studying abroad.
The minister said this after inaugurating vaccination centre at a shopping mall in Islamabad.
“With the number of vaccination centres across the country increasing, the burden on hospital admissions has been decreasing,” he added.
Currently, there are 1700 vaccination centres across Pakistan which will be increased further gradually. Umar also urged the people to get themselves vaccinated.
Last week, 100,000 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine via COVAX have arrived in Pakistan.
The shipment of vaccines came with the collaboration of UNICEF South Asia and the Vaccine Alliance of the World Health Organization (WHO). In a statement, UNICEF commended Pakistan’s effort and the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination Islamabad for the successful rollout of the countrywide COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
This shipment of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines was the second consignment of vaccines received by Pakistan via COVAX. Earlier this month, UNICEF had led the efforts to procure and deliver more than 1 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to the Government of Pakistan on behalf of COVAX.
