US ships 6.6 million doses of Pfizer vaccines to Pakistan

The United States on Friday shipped 6.6 million doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines to Pakistan through COVAX to assist the country in vaccinating its population against the coronavirus.

Pakistan is currently reeling from a deadly fourth wave of the pandemic, logging 3,787 fresh cases and 57 deaths over the past 24 hours.

The country's overall caseload and death toll stand at 1,171,578 and 26,035, respectively.

Read more: 1 million doses of Russian Sputnik V vaccine arrive in Islamabad

Pakistan has been recording daily cases between 3,000 and 4,000 for the past several weeks, putting pressure on the already over-burdened hospitals, especially in the big cities.

In an effort to ease the growing pressure on the health care system and curb the spread of the virus, the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) today decided to implement additional non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in selected districts from September 4 to 12.

The measures include the closure of the educational intuitions, restrictions on intercity transport in districts/cities where the disease is more prevalent and a ban on all indoor and outdoor events.

However, outdoor wedding events are to be allowed with a maximum of 300 guests whereas a ban on indoor gyms would also be implemented.

"The 6.6 million doses will arrive in time to assist the Pakistani government to inoculate young and at-risk Pakistanis and mitigate the fourth Covid-19 wave," the US embassy in Islamabad wrote on its official Twitter handle.

It said that the donation brings the total number of Covid-19 vaccines donated by the US to the Pakistani people to 15.8 million. "The United States is the single largest contributor supporting COVAX efforts toward global Covid-19 vaccine access."

Last month, the US had provided about 3.7 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to Pakistan.

“There is an urgency, now more than ever, to put an end to this devastating pandemic, and Pakistan and the United States are continuing to work together to achieve that goal,” US Embassy Chargé d’affaires Angela P Aggeler said.

Also read: US donates 3.7m doses of Pfizer vaccine to Pakistan

“The United States is proud to partner with the Pakistani people to defeat Covid-19. Together, we will continue to build a world that is safer and more secure against the threat of infectious disease.”

Pakistan also received the first consignment of one million doses of Russian-made Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday, the health ministry said.