ISLAMABAD: The Federal Ministry of National Health Services has announced that the coronavirus vaccine will be available in Pakistan by March 2021.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) for Health Dr Faisal Sultan, while talking to a local news station, said that the government has finalized the procedure for procurement of the vaccine.
Dr Faisal Sultan said that under the vaccination plan, the vaccine will be available in Pakistan in March 2021, adding that the government was in touch with many different countries for this endeavour.
SAPM said that in order to buy the vaccine, they would see which vaccine is the most beneficial. Some aspects of vaccine procurement are a bit difficult to decide, he added, stating that a committee will make a final decision on the purchase of the vaccine after considering the views of experts.
Furthermore, he said that the vaccination campaign would be carried out in three phases. The vaccine will be provided on an Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) basis.
In the first phase, medical staff will be vaccinated, while in the second phase, people over the age of 60 will be vaccinated, and in the third phase, it would be available to the general public.