PIA airlifts 2m Sinopharm doses from China

Three aircraft of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) airlifted a fresh batch of two million doses of Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine from Beijing, China to Pakistan, said the airline's Country Manager for China Qadir Bux Sangi on Saturday.

Bux added that another batch of 1.5 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, purchased by Pakistan from Chinese company CanSino, would be brought to the country in the next few days.

Earlier it was reported that The Asian Development Bank had approved a $500 million loan to procure coronavirus vaccines, as the government has finally decided to disclose the Chinese vaccine price to the international lenders to secure more loans.

The Manila-based lender approved the loan to support Pakistan’s National Deployment and Vaccination Plan by purchasing and delivering an estimated 39.8 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, safety boxes and syringes, according to an ADB handout.

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Both sides also signed the loan agreement on the same day in Islamabad. Minister for Economic Affairs Omar Ayub Khan witnessed the signing ceremony of the financing agreement.

The government can claim $150 million of the loan money on account of previous purchases and the rest of the loan will be available for future procurements. This will partially help the government to take pressure off from the rupee due to nearly $100 million monthly payments from the government resources on account of vaccine cost.