ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday there would be equitable access to the coronavirus vaccine in Pakistan, irrespective of whether someone was rich or poor.
The Pakistani PM was answering questions by members of the public via telephone in the first such session since he assumed office in 2018.
A Pakistan military aircraft brought back the country’s first consignment of COVID-19 vaccines from China on Monday. Pakistan has asked China for another one million doses. It has also been pledged 17 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine under a global scheme to deliver coronavirus treatments to developing nations.
About 6 million doses will arrive by the end of March under the COVAX scheme, coordinated by the World Health Organization to support lower-income countries. The reminder would be due by mid-year, the health chief announced last week.
“Rich and poor will not matter,” the PM told a caller during the telethon. “We will try to cover as many people as possible.”
Outlining the government’s plan, the PM said frontline health workers, especially those treating coronavirus patients, would be vaccinated in the first phase, followed by citizens who were above 60 years of age or those with pre-existing health conditions that made them more vulnerable to the coronavirus.
“All eligible citizens as per phases will be informed to register once the vaccine process will start,” the health ministry announced on its website.
Pakistan, a country of 220 million people, reported over 1,615 new infections and 26 deaths in the latest 24-hours, taking the total number of cases to 546,428, with 11,683 deaths.
