US donates additional 5mn doses of Pfizer vaccine to Pakistan on Christmas Day

The United States has donated additional 5 million doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines through the COVAX facility to Pakistan.

"This donation, which should arrive on Christmas Day or shortly thereafter, brings the total number of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the U.S. government to the Pakistani people to more than 37 million," the US embassy said in a statement on Saturday.

“Getting vaccinated is the best gift you can give your loved ones this holiday season. Celebrate the coming new year by getting your jab," the statement quoted US Embassy Islamabad’s Chargé d’affaires Angela P Aggeler as saying.

US ships 2.4 million doses of Pfizer vaccine to Pakistan

"These Pfizer vaccines are part of the 500 million Pfizer doses the United States purchased this summer to deliver to 92 countries worldwide, including Pakistan, to fulfill President Biden’s commitment to provide safe and effective vaccines around the world and supercharge the global fight against the pandemic," the statement added.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has administered 148,265,690 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. In a tweet on Saturday, the National Command and Operation Centre said that 1,336,509 doses were administered across the country during the last 24 hours.

Moreover, Pakistan reported 353 new infections and seven more deaths in the last 24 hours. Sindh reported 211 cases, 3 deaths, Punjab reported 58 cases, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa confirmed 46 cases and two deaths, and Balochistan reported four new cases.

Similarly, Islamabad reported 33 cases and two deaths, Azad Jammu and Kashmir detected one new case, while Gilgit-Baltistan confirmed no new cases.