PAF plane off to China to bring back first batch of Covid-19 vaccine

ISLAMABAD   –  A special plane of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) left for Beijing, China, yesterday for transportation of first tranche of vaccine.

The plane will bring back the first batch of the 500,000 vaccine doses that China had promised to provide to Pakistan in January, according to a statement by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

The NCOC has already decided upon a comprehensive strategy for the administration of the Coronavirus vaccines and other administrative measures.

“All necessary measures have been put in place for the vaccine storage at Islamabad and move of the vaccine to various federating units particularly to Sindh and Balochistan through air,” said the statement.

A vaccine nerve centre has been established at the NCOC with provincial and district-level vaccine administration / coordination centres / Adult Vaccination Centres.

Meanwhile, the country on Sunday reported 1,599 new Covid-19 cases and 34 deaths during the past 24 hours. Thirty-four more people died of Covid-19 over the last twenty-four hours, taking the death toll to 11,657. As many as 499,974 people have so far recovered from the disease.

A day earlier, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar had said that the Chinese vaccine would be sufficient for 250,000 healthcare workers as two doses were required for every person. According to the officials, 400,000 healthcare workers have registered themselves. The vaccine was developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products, a subsidiary of state-owned conglomerate Sinopharm.

Meanwhile, thirty-four more people died of COVID-19 over the last twenty-four hours, taking the total tally to 11,657.    

According to the latest statistics, 1,599 new cases of coronavirus surfaced in the country during the last twenty-four hours after the tests of 42,455 people. At least 499,974 people have so far recovered from the disease.