Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has said that COVAX has indicated a supply of up to 17 million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for Pakistan in the year.

The chief of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) made the development public via tweet stating: "Good news on COVID vaccine front. Received a letter from COVAX of [an] indicative supply of up to 17 million doses of AstraZeneca in 1st half 2021."

According to the planning minister, six million of the total 17 million doses will be received by March with delivery starting in February. He did not specify any dates.

"We signed with COVAX nearly eight months back to ensure availability," he added.

Of the 190 participating economies, Pakistan is among the 92 that qualify for the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVAX initiative that ensures “rapid and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries, regardless of income level”.

It is speculated that the vaccine to arrive tomorrow (Sunday) will be the one made by Sinopharm.

Earlier this month, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) gave authorisation for both — the Chinese-manufactured Sinopharm, and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.