ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has made an agreement to procure 13 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer, said Special Assistant on National Health Services Faisal Sultan.
An exact timeline was not yet available, Faisal Sultan told a news agency, but said the doses would arrive by the end of 2021, under an agreement the government has made with the manufacturer.
The country faced initial vaccination hesitancy and a shortage of vaccine supply but it started a mass vaccination campaign late last month that is now open to all adults.
On May 29, Pakistan received 100,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine through the COVAX facility, but they are being administered to people who are immunocompromised and not suitable for other vaccines.
Nearly 13 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered so far, with about 3.5 million people fully vaccinated, according to the National Command Operation Centre (NCOC) which is overseeing the pandemic response.
Pakistan has primarily used Chinese vaccines — Sinopharm, CanSinoBio and Sinovac — in its inoculation drive. Earlier his month, it began allowing those under 40 to receive AstraZeneca.
It was earlier reported that Pakistan signed an agreement with Pfizer Pakistan to receive doses of the American vaccine.
The agreement was signed by Pfizer Pakistan and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to supply 13 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
“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,” said Pfizer Pakistan Country Manager Syed Mohammad Wajeehuddin in a statement.
“In the face of this global health crisis, Pfizer’s purpose — breakthroughs that change patients’ lives — has taken on an even greater urgency. Our hope is that our vaccine will help make this happen,” he said.
Earlier this month Pakistan approved spending $1.1 billion on procuring vaccines, part of its goal to inoculate at least 70 million people. Pfizer and BioNTech aim to manufacture more than three billion doses of the vaccine globally by the end of this year.
