Pakistan receives new doses of Moderna, CanSino vaccines

Pakistan received new doses of the Moderna and CanSino vaccines on Monday.

Three million doses of the Moderna vaccine reached Islamabad Monday morning. They were donated by the World Health Organisation’s COVAX facility.

“This consignment brings the number of Covid-19 vaccine doses delivered by COVAX to Pakistan to eight million,” UNICEF Pakistan tweeted.

Three million doses of Moderna #COVID19 vaccine donated by the U.S. Government have just reached Islamabad 🇵🇰 through the #COVAX Facility with @UNICEF support. This consignment brings the number of #COVID19 vaccine doses delivered by #COVAX to @GovtofPakistan to 8 million. pic.twitter.com/Hwn6Vj5ser

— UNICEF Pakistan (@UNICEF_Pakistan) July 26, 2021

Pakistan has received four consignments of coronavirus vaccines from the facility. They include shipments of the Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca vaccines.

The COVAX programme seeks to provide vaccines to countries across the world.

According to the National Disaster Management Authority, the country also received 0.2 million doses of the CanSino vaccine. They have been handed over to the health ministry.

The government aims to immunise 40% of the population in big cities by the end of August. So far, more than 20 million people have been inoculated against the deadly virus, NCOC chief Asad Umar said Sunday.

In the last 24 hours, 3,752 new cases were reported across the country while 32 people lost their lives. Experts say the Delta variant is predominant in the recent spike.

Delta variant

The Delta variant of the coronavirus has spread to more than 70 countries. It was first detected in India in December 2020. It is highly transmissible and appears to be more severe.

The guidelines to avoid exposure to the new variant are the same:

• Sanitise hands more often
• Wear a mask
• Avoid public gatherings
• Get vaccinated as soon as possible
• Avoid meeting people with symptoms
• Avoid unnecessary travel