Pakistan administers 10 million vaccine doses
More than 10 million COVID vaccination doses have been administered in Pakistan, the country’s government has said.
While home to a population of around 220 million people, the latest milestone has been hailed after initial concerns over hesitancy and also a lack of supply.
COVID minister Asad Umar said: “Thank God, we have succeeded in administering 10 million vaccine (doses).”
He added: “Our target is to vaccinate up to 70 million people by the end of this year.”
Pakistan has had to rely heavily on China for vaccine supplies, with the Sinopharm, SinoVac and the one shot CanSinoBio jabs all approved for use in the nation.
Three other vaccines are also approved for use, including the Russian Sputnik V and the Oxford-AstraZeneca doses.
A recent surge in cases in the country has started to ease of, with 1,118 new infections and 77 deaths reported on Wednesday.
According to Johns Hopkins University, there have been 936,131 cases and 21,453 deaths in Pakistan over the course of the pandemic.
Some 18 million doses of vaccines have been purchased by or donated to Pakistan, and the country has also started making the CanSinoBio jab – with hopes it can produce three million doses a month.
Pic: Reuters
