Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said on Sunday that the government spent more than Rs250 billion from its budget to procure Covid-19 vaccines in 2021, Aaj News reported.

While addressing a press conference in Karachi, the minister said that the government did not wait for provinces to set aside a budget for procurement and used its own to purchase vaccines as soon as possible.

“We did not let politics affect our handling of coronavirus and distributed the Covid vaccine among provinces without any political discrimination or prejudice,” Asad said.

As a result, the government successfully met its target, which was set in May last year, to fully immunise 71.5 million people by the end of 2021, he added.

Omicron in Pakistan: Asad Umar says 'clear evidence' another Covid wave beginning

Responding to a tweet by a PPP leader saying Sindh was unable to procure vaccines as per law, the minister said there was not any law that stopped any province from purchasing vaccines.

Earlier on Sunday, the minister had urged people to show caution and follow standard operation procedures (SOPs) against the coronavirus, as another wave of Covid-19 was in the offing.

In a tweet, Umar, who also heads the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), said that “Genome sequencing shows a rising proportion of Omicron cases particularly in Karachi.”

He said that the outbreak had been expected for the last few weeks.

“Remember: wearing a mask is your best protection,” he urged.