ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has said that the government has decided to purchase 1.2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from China initially.
In a tweet on Thursday, the minister said that the vaccine doses to be purchased from the Sinopharm Company will be provided free of cost to frontline workers in the first quarter of New Year.
The minister said that if any Private Sector Company wants to import any other internationally approved vaccine, it will be allowed.
کابینہ کمیٹی نے فیصلہ کیا ہے کہ ابتدائ طور پر چین کی کمپنی سائنوفارم سے ویکسین کی بارہ لاکھ Doses خریدی جائیں گی جو 2021 کی پہلی سہ ماہی میں فرنٹ لائن ورکرز کو مفت مہیا کی جائیں گی، پرائیویٹ سیکٹر اگر کوئ اور بینالاقوامی طور پر منظور شدہ ویکسین امپورٹ کرنا چاہےتو وہ بھی کرسکتا ہے
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) December 31, 2020
Meanwhile, as per the National Command & Operation Centre (NCOC), 2,475 more people tested positive for Coronavirus on December 30 across Pakistan while 58 patients succumbed to the disease.
Most of the deaths recorded in the last 24 hours occurred in Punjab wherein 31 people died followed by Sindh which registered 13 deaths, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 11 deaths, and Islamabad, Balochistan, and Azad Jammu 1 death each.
To date, a total of 479,715 have been infected by COVID-19 across Pakistan and as of December 31, the total active COVID Cases in the Country remain to be 34,537.
In addition, the Country has so far recorded 10,105 COVID deaths. Out of which, Punjab has recorded 4,013 deaths, Sindh 3,533, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 1,638, Islamabad 416, Azad Kashmir 221, Balochistan 183, and Gilgit-Baltistan 101.
