Federal government has given full autonomy to provinces regarding procurement of COVID-19 vaccines.
Dr Faisal Sultan – Special Assistant to PM on Health, has clarified that provincial governments do not require any kind of ‘NOC’ for COVID-19 vaccine procurement.
Federal government will continue to procure COVID-19 vaccine and will also facilitate to the provincial authorities, said the SAPM.
The Fed govt has procured & will continue to procure COVID vaccine for all Pakistanis. At the same time, there is no "NOC" requirement (or any NOC pending) or bar for any provincial govt to procure any reg'd vaccine if they are able to. Any facilitation needed will be provided
— Faisal Sultan (@fslsltn) March 29, 2021
Sindh government is likely to procure 5 million CanSino COVID-19 vaccine doses from China. Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho has reassured that her government will establish more vaccination centers in the province.
It is pertinent to know that Pakistan launched its first COVID-19 vaccination programme on February 3rd after receiving 500,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses from China’s Sinopharm on February 1st.
The COVID-19 vaccination drive was launched simultaneously in federal capital along with provincial capitals namely Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar.
Meanwhile the second phase of COVID-19 vaccination was launched on March 10th. The second phase of COVID-19 inoculation will focus on people who are aged 60 or above, as they’re more vulnerable to the novel virus.
According to Ministry of National Health Services, people above the age of 60 can get themselves registered via sending a text message at 1166 or can visit National Immunization Management System (NIMS) website.
