By Minahil Makhdoom
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday received another shipment of 500,000 doses of a Sinovac coronavirus vaccine from China.
A special plane of PAF carrying as many as 500,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine arrived at the Nur Khan Airbase in Islamabad.
This was the fifth coronavirus vaccine and the third Chinese vaccine to be used in Pakistan. Pakistan on April 18. had reached an agreement for the procurement of China’s CoronaVac vaccine.
Coronavac vaccine has been prepared by the Sinovac Life Sciences of China. The firm has assured providing the vaccine according to the needs of Pakistan, sources said.
CoronaVac, inactivated vaccine, comprises of two doses and stored at minus-two to eight degree Celsius temperature, sources said. China had allowed emergency use of the CoronaVac in July 2020
According to details, Pakistan will receive two million doses of COVID vaccine from China by April 24. Out of two million doses, 1.5 million would be purchased from China while 500,000 would be provided as a gift from the neighbouring friendly country.
The doses included 1.5 million vaccines of Sinopharm and 500,000 jabs of Sinovac.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan has already begun vaccinating elderly people aged above 50-year-old and health professionals.
