Coronavirus vaccine availability in Pakistan satisfactory: NCOC

The COVID-19 vaccine availability in the country is satisfactory,  the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) said Tuesday in a statement.

The development came during an NCOC session held in Islamabad, with National Coordinator Lt Gen Hamood-uz-Zaman Khan in the chair. Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan and Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lt Gen Akhtar Nawaz Satti were in attendance.

During the meeting, the forum discussed the rollout plan of three million Sinovac vaccine doses that are scheduled to arrive today from China through a procurement plan for the month of June, the statement said.

"Chairman NDMA briefed [the meeting] on efforts put in for procurement plan of vaccines out of the allotted budget of US$ 1.2 billion," the statement said, adding the forum reiterated that all federating units could procure vaccine at their end.

So far, Pakistan has procured 21.13 million vaccines manufactured by different companies. Out of the total, 17 million were purchased, the statement said.

Next, the forum expressed concerns over the rising coronavirus positivity ratio in Gilgit-Baltistan and emphasised on stringent implementation of SOPs with regards to tourism in the Northern region of the country.

"It was reiterated that federating units have the discretion of planning summer holidays in their respective educational institutions," the statement added.