Pakistan gets 2.5 million doses of Moderna from US

Pakistan received 2.5 million doses of Moderna vaccine from the US on Friday, easing pressure on Islamabad in overcoming the shortage of COVID-19 vaccines. (AFP/File)

• Vaccines were delivered to the Pakistani people in partnership with the COVAX global vaccine initiative
• The latest development comes days after hundreds of Pakistani expatriate workers rallied in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan received 2.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine from the United States on Friday, easing pressure on Islamabad in overcoming the shortage of COVID-19 vaccines.
According to a US embassy statement, the vaccines were delivered to the Pakistani people in partnership with the COVAX global vaccine initiative, UNICEF, and the government of Pakistan.
It says this donation was part of the 80 million doses the United States was sharing with the world, “delivering on our pledge to facilitate equitable global access to safe and effective vaccines, which are essential to ending the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The latest development comes days after hundreds of Pakistani expatriate workers rallied in Islamabad, demanding they should be quickly vaccinated with the Moderna, Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines so they can travel abroad.
Pakistan has mostly relied on Chinese vaccines, but some Middle Eastern countries want travelers to produce a certificate to show they’ve received specific vaccines.