Pakistan has no plans to buy COVID-19 vaccines and the country would rely on 'herd immunity' and the vaccines donated by friendly countries and international organizations to tackle the COVID-19 challenge, said Pakistan’s Health Secretary Amir Ashraf. 

He stated the government position in a hearing of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The cost of a single dose Chinese vaccine Cansino is around $13 dollar, and the country would rely on "friendly countries", especially China, and international organizations to donate vaccines, the Maj Gen Amir Amer Akram, the executive director of the National Health Services told Dawn. 

The PAC was also told that China had promised one million doses of Sinopharm vaccines to Pakistan, out of which 500,000 doses have already been delivered. Around 2,75,000 vaccines have been administered to health and frontline workers. 

Pakistan will also receive around 13 million doses of Indian-made Covishield through the Gavi alliance, the health secretary informed the PAC.  The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi) is a public-private global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunization in poor countries.

He also informed the committee that the first batch of Covishield is expected by mid-March and the rest would come by the end of April.