NCOC discusses roll out plan for 3m doses of Sinovac arriving today

County has received 21.13 million doses of Covid jabs so far, forum apprised

ISLAMABAD:

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) discussed on Tuesday the roll out plan for three million doses of Sinovac, arriving today from China, under the procurement plan for the month of June.

The session, chaired by National Coordinator Lt Gen Hamood-uz-Zaman Khan, was held today, and was attended by Special Assistant to Prime minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Akhtar Nawaz Satti among other concerned officers.

The forum was apprised that Pakistan has so far received 21.13 million doses of different types of vaccines, of which over 17 million doses were procured on payment.

The NDMA chairman briefed the meeting's participants on the efforts to procure vaccines out of the allotted budget of US$ 1.2 billion.

The forum expressed satisfaction on the availability of vaccines in the country. It was also reiterated that all federating units can procure vaccine at their end.

However, the participants expressed concerns over the rising positivity of disease in Gilgit-Baltistan and emphasised on stringent implementation of SOPs with regards to tourism in the northern region.

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It was reiterated that federating units have the discretion of planning summer holidays in their respective education institutions in view of their situation.

On June 24, Pakistan stressed the need for a joint global strategy and response to fight the pandemic and called for an uninterrupted and even supply of vaccines globally for early eradication of the coronavirus pandemic.

​To highlight the successful efforts of the government against Covid-19, the NCOC organised a briefing session for members of the diplomatic corps and international organisations based in Islamabad, a statement from the NCOC said.

​The participants were given a detailed briefing, showcasing Pakistan’s response to Covid-19 that also highlighted various strands of the country’s strategy to tackle the pandemic, the statement added.

Those in attendance appreciated Pakistan’s efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of the disease in the country, the official communique further said.