Parliamentary secretary for health Dr Nausheen Hamid on Thursday said that India had caused a delay in the delivery of the first batch of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine.

The vaccine was scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on March 2, but now it is expected to arrive in mid of the month.

The vaccine is being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, which will deliver it to 92 lower and middle income countries, including Pakistan, under the World Health Organization’s COVAX programme.

Talking to Arab News parliamentary secretary for health, Dr. Nausheen Hamid said, “The [AstraZeneca] vaccine delivery to Pakistan has got late due to a delay in issuance of an export exemption certificate.”

“It [the vaccine] has to come from India so they have delayed the release of the [export exemption] certificate,” she added.

She was unclear that the delay was deliberate move by the Narendra Modi-led government or not. “I don’t know if it is intentionally delayed. But I do know the delay is caused by their [India’s] end.”

As per the plan under the COVAX program, the country will by June be receiving 45 million doses in two to three instalments. At least 14 million doses are expected to be delivered in the first phase.

Pakistan started its COVID-19 vaccine program in the first week of February with jabs for frontline health workers as priority after getting at least 500,000 doses as a donation from China.