Lately with each passing day, the debate on procurement of coronavirus vaccine is gaining momentum. At the same time, the confusion is also multiplying due to contradictory and vague conjectures and announcements by the PTI government regarding the timing of procurement.
It is to be noted that 70 Million is the target set by the incumbent government to gain herd immunity. There were reports that only 1.2 Million doses were ordered so far, primarily for frontline healthcare workers. That, however, was not endorsed by the relevant officials who denied of any such procurement mechanism.
There is a growing number of vaccine contenders having different prices and Pakistan is looking forward to procure COVID vaccine free of cost. The delay though is jeopardising the lives of millions. Therefore, the government of Pakistan needs to be proactive and must take decisive action before it is too late. Any bottlenecks in decision making and bureacratic hurdles in the procurement must be addressed on priority basis.
