Web Desk
Pakistan has signed an agreement with Pfizer Pakistan under which it would receive 13 million doses of the American vaccine.
According to a statement issued by a publicity firm, the agreement was signed by Pfizer Pakistan and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to supply 13 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (BNT162b2). Deliveries are planned during the course of 2021.
“We are deeply honoured to work with the Pakistani government and to marshal our scientific and manufacturing resources toward our shared goal of bringing a Covid-19 vaccine to the people of Pakistan as quickly as possible,” said Pfizer Pakistan Country Manager Syed Mohammad Wajeehuddin in a statement.
“In the face of this global health crisis, Pfizer’s purpose — breakthroughs that change patients’ lives — has taken on an even greater urgency. Our hope is that our vaccine will help make this happen,” he said.
Chief Business and Chief Commercial Officer at BioNTech Sean Marett also thanked the Pakistani government for its support and putting trust in their ability to develop a vaccine that, they believed, had the potential to help address this global pandemic threat.
“Our goal remains to deliver a global supply of a well-tolerated and effective Covid-19 vaccine for many people around the world, as quickly as we can,” Marett said.
Pfizer and BioNTech aim to manufacture more than three billion doses of the vaccine globally by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, a total of 630 diplomats and employees of the United Nations (UN) agencies have been vaccinated at the NIH, the Islamabad-based institute’s data revealed.
An official of the NIH, requesting not to be named, said according to rules, only Pakistani nationals were entitled to the free vaccine, but last month it was decided to allow diplomats and employees of UN agencies to avail the facility.
“So far over 630 people from 57 countries have been vaccinated. As per procedure, embassies and UN agencies share the list of employees with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for inoculation. We have established a vaccination centre at the NIH for diplomats and foreigners,” he said.
Replying to a question, the official said the diplomats were given the choice from available vaccines and majority opted for Chinese vaccines.
“Some of the diplomats wanted to be inoculated with AstraZeneca. There was also a demand for Pfizer, but they were told that the American vaccine could only be given to immuno-compromised persons,” he said.
It is worth mentioning here that so far 100,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine have arrived under Covax, an international alliance which has pledged free vaccine for 20pc population of Pakistan.
