Pakistan Receives 1.2mn Doses of British vaccine AstraZeneca; Guidelines Issued

Pakistan has on Saturday (today) received 1.2 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to maintain the ongoing immunization drive against the deadly pandemic.

British high commissioner to Pakistan, Christian Turner, tweeted that Pakistan has received 1.2 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses.

“This pandemic has kept us apart but also brought us together. Welcoming the arrival of the first batch of #COVAX UniofOxford AstraZeneca vaccines in Pakistan; 1.2m doses for world’s 5th largest country,” Turner said on Twitter.

This pandemic has kept us apart, but also brought us together. Welcoming the arrival of first batch of #COVAX @UniofOxford @AstraZeneca vaccines in 🇵🇰; 1.2m doses for world’s 5th largest country pic.twitter.com/hIQv8Gg2VY

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— Christian Turner (@CTurnerFCDO) May 8, 2021

SAPM on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan has appreciated COVAX and GAVI’s contribution to the collective effort to fight COVID-19.

On the other hand, in addition to guidelines that apply to all COVID-19 vaccines, Oxford-AstraZeneca will not be administered to females below the age of 40 years in Pakistan.

Here are detailed guidelines about the AstraZeneca vaccine:

Vaccine Storage

1. Storage and transportation in maximum shelf life are 6 months stored in a refrigerator between 2 to 8°C.
2. Once removed from the fridge, maybe stored between 2 to 25°C for up to 6 hours.
3. Do not freeze the vaccine in any circumstance.
4. Protect the vaccine from direct exposure to sunlight.
5. Once punctured, the vial must be used within 6 hours.
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6. Must not be frozen.
7. During storage keep vials in the outer carton to protect from light.

Who should receive the Vaccine?

1. All male adults over the age of 18 years.
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2. Women over the age of 40 years

In addition to guidelines that apply to all COVID-19 vaccines, Oxford-AstraZeneca will not be administered to females below the age of 40 years in Pakistan. You can find detailed guidelines about the AstraZeneca vaccine here: https://t.co/JuzDzjp1AS

— Ministry of National Health Services, Pakistan (@nhsrcofficial) May 8, 2021

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Earlier, three special PIA aircrafts have on Saturday reached Beijing to bring a million COVID-19 vaccines to fight the surge against the pandemic across Pakistan. 

The special plane carrying the vaccine arrived at Islamabad’s Nur Khan Airbase. This was the eighth Covid-19 vaccine consignment that arrived from China.

Previously, Pakistan had accepted another cargo of 500,000 doses of a SinoVac coronavirus vaccine from China.

Pakistan on April 18 had reached an agreement for the procurement of China’s CoronaVac vaccine.

CoronaVac comprises two doses and stored at minus-two to eight degree Celsius temperature, sources said.

Out of two million doses from China, Pakistan has so far received 1.5 million vaccines of Sinopharm and 500,000 jabs of Sinovac.

Previously, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) had approved the Sinopharm vaccine against COVID-19 for people over 60 years of age.

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