ISLAMABAD: A special PAF plane with first tranche of COVID-19 vaccine has arrived in Islamabad from Beijing.
According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), all necessary measures have been put in place for the vaccine storage in Islamabad and its onward transportation to other parts of the country.
A vaccine nerve center has been established at NCOC along with vaccine administration and coordination centres at provincial and district level.
China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister, Wang Yi during a phone call with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi last week had promised to provide 500,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Pakistan by January 31.
Beijing had asked Islamabad to send an airplane to get the vaccines.
Later, Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Hua Chunying had also confirmed that in order to support the brothers and sisters in Pakistan, the Chinese government would provide a batch of vaccines as aid and would actively coordinate with the relevant Chinese enterprise to speed up export of vaccines to Pakistan.
The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), which oversees Pakistan’s coronavirus response, had sent the special aircraft to bring the vaccine that Beijing had promised to provide.
The NCOC has taken necessary steps to store the vaccine in Islamabad and onward supply to various federating units particularly to Sindh and Balochistan through the air.