U.S. government representatives and health officials from the Government of Pakistan visited a vaccination center in Islamabad to launch a countrywide campaign to vaccinate children with the first batch of 8 million Pfizer COVID-19 pediatric vaccine doses donated by the United States.
From the time the pandemic started, the United States has committed to donating over 78 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to the Pakistani people, and thus far more than 70 million of these doses have arrived in-country.? The United States remains the largest donor of COVID-19 vaccines to Pakistan.
According to the sources, the U.S. government, through USAID, is now supporting the Government of PakistanÂ’s COVID-19 pediatric vaccination drive for 5- to 11-year-old children. U.S. Ambassador Donald Blome along with the Federal Health Minister, Mr. Abdul Qadir Patel, launched the life-saving campaign at the Mass Vaccination Center in Islamabad.
The campaign is currently taking place in the federal capital and selected districts of Sindh and Punjab provinces.?
The event was also attended by Executive Director of NIH Major General Dr. Aamer Ikram, Director of General Health Services Dr. Shabana Salem, and other senior Pakistani government officials.
While addressing health officials at the inauguration campaign, US Envoy Blome remarked, “Today, we celebrate the next step in protecting all Pakistanis against this devastating disease by launching the pediatric vaccination campaign.? Our recent collaboration to protect the children of Pakistan demonstrates the importance of our longstanding partnership to work together and overcome the global challenge.”
In response, the Federal Health Minister praised the commitment of both countries to combat COVID-19 in Pakistan and commented, “Protecting our communities from COVID-19 is a shared priority of both of our governments, and these vaccines will keep millions of children safe from the most devastating impacts of the pandemic.
He expressed gratitude for the U.S. government’s support to improve health services in Pakistan and noted that it reflects the strong bilateral relations between the two countries.”
Besides providing the vaccines, the U.S. government has also supplied over $80 million in direct and in-kind support to help the Pakistani people in the fight against COVID-19.