Pakistan gets 2.5m doses of US-made Moderna jab

According to a Tweet from US Embassy, 2.5 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine donated by the United States arrived at Islamabad International Airport.

1/3 Today, 2.5 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine donated by the United States arrived at Islamabad International Airport. The vaccines will be delivered to the Pakistani people in partnership w/ COVAX, @UNICEF & the @GovtofPakistan. https://t.co/7E16mk2gi2 pic.twitter.com/ZScjfzlbPt

— U.S. Embassy Islamabad (@usembislamabad) July 2, 2021

The vaccines will be delivered to the Pakistani people in partnership with COVAX, UNICEF and the Government of Pakistan.

The donation is part of the 80 million doses the United States is sharing with the world, delivering on its pledge to facilitate equitable global access to safe and effective vaccines, which are essential to ending the COVID-19 pandemic.

3/3 In addition to today’s vaccine donation, the US has delivered nearly $50 million in COVID assistance through our partnership with the @GovtofPakistan. Since the start of the pandemic, we have worked together to improve lab testing, disease monitoring, and patient care.

— U.S. Embassy Islamabad (@usembislamabad) July 2, 2021

“These vaccines will save lives and help Pakistan emerge from this crisis, which has devastated so many families and communities in both our countries. A vaccinated public will also help bring back the economic and social interactions we all welcome. We appreciate the ongoing collaboration with the Pakistani government and our international partners to make this delivery and these goals a reality.”

In addition to today’s vaccine donation, the statement added, the United States has delivered nearly $50 million in COVID-19 assistance through their partnership with the Pakistani government.

This is the first shipment of the two-dose Moderna vaccines that the county has received.

It is the third non-Chinese vaccine now available in Pakistan.

Earlier, the UK-made AstraZeneca and US-made Pfizer were being inoculated in the country alongside China’s Sinopharm, Sinovac and Cansino vaccines.

The shot will also be used for those looking to travel abroad as Chinese vaccines are not approved in many countries.

Pakistan is expected to get more doses of the UK made coronavirus vaccine in July.

The Biden administration announced shipping 2 million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to Peru and 2.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine to Pakistan, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday.

Earlier in June, President Joe Biden had announced his plans to allocate 75 per cent of unused Covid-19 vaccines through the UN-backed Covax global vaccine sharing programme, the White House announced on Thursday.

The White House unveiled the allocation for sharing the first 25 million doses with the world. The US has said it plans to share 80 million vaccine doses globally by the end of June. The administration says 25 per cent will be kept in reserve for emergencies and for the US to share directly with allies and partners.

“As long as this pandemic is raging anywhere in the world, the American people will still be vulnerable,” Biden said in a statement. “And the United States is committed to bringing the same urgency to international vaccination efforts that we have demonstrated at home.”

Of the first tranche of 25 million doses, the White House says about 19 million will go to Covax, with approximately 6 million for South and Central America, 7 million for Asia, and 5 million for Africa. The doses mark a substantial — and immediate — boost to the lagging Covax effort, which to date has shared just 76 million doses with needy countries.

COVID Situation in Pakistan

COVID-19 infections are decreasing in Pakistan, with 926 new infections reported on average each day. That’s 16% of the peak — the highest daily average reported on June 17.

There have been 959,685 infections and 22,345 coronavirus-related deaths reported in the country since the pandemic began.

Meanwhile, the death toll from coronavirus in Pakistan has been steadily declining, with only 24 deaths reported in one day.

According to National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), around 1,277 cases of coronavirus were reported in the country.

As many as 905,430 patients have recovered from the disease with 1,863 critical cases.

Pakistan has administered 16,356,499 doses of COVID vaccines so far. While 13,234,851 people are partially vaccinated and 3,121,648 are fully jabbed against the virus.

 Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that’s enough to have vaccinated about 3.2% of the country’s population.

During the last week reported, Pakistan averaged about 290,700 doses administered each day.

At that rate, it will take a further 138 days to administer enough doses for another 10% of the population.