Health
Pakistan to get 17m doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine before April
Islamabad: Pakistan to get 17 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine before ‘April’ with another 10 million doses before ‘June’, confirms British High Commission. COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca is co-invented by the University of Oxford and its spin-out company, Vaccitech.
With the vaccine, more than eight million Pakistanis will receive protection against the deadly coronavirus. AstraZeneca vaccine requires two doses; first jab shown to be 76 percent effective and efficacy rises to 82 percent after second dose.
Earlier, National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) broke the news that COVAX has indicated a supply of up to 17 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine for Pakistan in the first half of 2021.
"Good news on COVID vaccine front. Received a letter from COVAX of [an] indicative supply of up to 17 million doses of AstraZeneca in 1st half 2021," Umar wrote on Twitter. According to the planning minister, 6 million of the total 17 million doses will be received by March with delivery starting in February.
Under COVAX programme for supplying COVID-19 vaccines to poor countries; Pakistan to get 17.2 million doses. The scheme has planned enough doses for dozens of countries to immunise more than 3 percent of their populations by mid-year.
A statement said the initial distribution was in line with a target "to protect the most vulnerable groups such as health care workers" in the first half of the year.