By Umar Farooq
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan has received 2.5 million doses of Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine from the United States, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry and the U.S. embassy in Islamabad said on Friday.
“These vaccines will give boost to ongoing vaccination drive in Pakistan,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri posted on Twitter. “Deeply appreciate continued support by the US in our fight against the pandemic.”
The United States donated the doses through the global COVAX facility, which aims to provide vaccines to developing countries like Pakistan. Pakistan has so far relied heavily on its ally China to provide vaccines, three of which – Sinopharm, CanSinoBio, and Sinovac – are being used in the country.
Pakistan also plans to purchase 13 million doses of Pfizer Inc’s vaccine before the end of the year, and the AstraZeneca Plc vaccine is also available in the country.
More than 13 million people have been partially vaccinated in the country, and more than 3 million fully vaccinated.
Pakistan has registered a total of 959,685 cases and 22,345 deaths. On Thursday, 1,100 new infections and 24 deaths were reported.
(Reporting by Umar Farooq; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
