Daily Times

The United States, the single largest donor of Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines, in partnership with Covax, has donated another batch of nine million pediatric and adult doses to Pakistan.

In a press release on Saturday, the US Embassy expressed appreciation for the strong bilateral health cooperation that the two countries share during the last 75 years of bilateral relations.

“The vaccines, supplies, and training we have provided to Pakistan, coupled with the expertise and dedication of Pakistan’s healthcare professionals, will allow our two countries to continue working together to combat Covid-19 and safeguard the health and safety of the Pakistani people,” US Ambassador in Pakistan Donald Blome said.

The funding of an additional $20 million had also been planned to support the ongoing vaccination efforts in Pakistan, said the statement.

“Since the start of the pandemic, the US government has provided nearly $70.4 million in direct support and $13.8 million in in-kind support to assist the Pakistani people in the fight against Covid,” it said.

Separately, the US has also recently donated four mobile testing laboratories worth $4.6 million to the National Institute of Health (NIH) through USAID.

These labs will strengthen Pakistan’s ability to diagnose coronavirus and other communicable diseases, especially in remote and underserved areas, said the statement. Furthermore, the US embassy recalled that close coordination between the countries and its doctors, nurses, and logistics professionals had produced tangible, life-saving results.

“Every additional vaccine administered boosts our ability to prevent future COVID-19 waves,” it said, vowing to continue working with Pakistani friends to help strengthen local capacity and infrastructure to combat Covid and other communicable diseases.

Previously, US also provided Pakistan with more than 1.2 million N95 masks, 96,000 surgical masks, 52,000 protective goggles, one million Covid rapid diagnostic tests, 1,200 pulse oximeters, and 200 ventilators for 64 hospitals across the country.

The US government has also trained over 50,000 health workers, including 30,000 women, across the country on home-based care for Covid patients and established a national network of disease surveillance and response units and teams.