Next week, Pakistan plans to launch vaccination programme against Covid -19, starting with health workers getting jabs of free doses of a China-made vaccine.
The vaccine powerhouse - India makes about 60% of vaccines globally - has also begun shipping millions of free doses to friendly neighbours Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan and Nepal in the region, in what is being described as "vaccine diplomacy".
Unsurprisingly, Pakistan is not a recipient. The two nuclear-armed rivals have fought three wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947, with the last war between them taking place in 1971. They came to the brink of war in 2019 over the disputed territory of Kashmir.
Pakistan plans to inoculate at least 70% of its 220 million people against Covid free of cost. Regulators have given emergency use approval for three candidates - the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, the China made Sinopharm and Russian-developed Sputnik V. Another China-made vaccine Cansino Biologics is in final clinical trials in Pakistan. The country has recorded more than 530,000 infections, and 11,514 deaths from the infection so far.
For starters, China has pledged to donate 500,000 doses of the China made Sinopharm
to Pakistan, and the first batches are expected to arrive at the
weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment