Islamabad (Web Desk): Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday launched COVID-19 vaccination drive in Pakistan.
According to details, the first jab was administered to a doctor in Islamabad.
Addressing a gathering to mark the occasion, the premier congratulated the health team of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government and thanked China for donating 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine to Pakistan.
“The vaccine will get be first administered to health workers working with Covid-19 patients, followed by the elderly in the high-risk age group,” the PM said.
He said that the vaccine will be distributed among the provinces on equal basis.
PM Imran once again urged people to follow the COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Earlier in the day, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar on said that Covid-19 vaccination campaign will be started today in the presence of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
In a tweet, the minister said that the national vaccination campaign will start in the provincial capitals from Wednesday.
Asad Umar said that in the first phase, the vaccine will be administered to frontline health workers.
On Monday, the first batch of COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Pakistan from China.
A special Pakistan Air Force (PAF) plane carrying 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine landed at the Noor Khan Airbase.
On January 28, the federal government approved the emergency use of three coronavirus vaccines including Russia’s Sputnik-V, China’s Sinopharm and UK’s Oxford-AstraZeneca for which a step-by-step guide was also issued.