PAKISTAN announced on Wednesday (9) it will spend $1.1 billion (£904 million) on procuring the Covid-19 vaccine to inoculate eligible adults.
The Economic Coordination Council (ECC) "expressed the government's commitment to provide $1.1 bn (£904 m) for procurement of Covid-19 vaccine," the finance ministry said in a statement.
It said the money will be spent to inoculate between 45 million and 65 million eligible adults this year in the country of 220 million.
The ECC approved $70m (£57m) on Wednesday to top up $130m (£106m) it sanctioned in May.
The vaccine will be procured by the military-run National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the statement said.
"Thank God, we have succeeded in administering 10 million vaccines (doses)," the minister in charge for Covid-19 operations, Asad Umar, told a ceremony to mark the milestone in Islamabad.
"Our target is to vaccinate up to 70 million people by the end of this year," he said.
Pakistan faced initial vaccination hesitancy and a shortage of supplies, but it started a mass vaccination campaign late last month.
It has relied heavily on China for vaccine supplies, with three out of six approved does coming from Chinese producers: Sinopharm, SinoVac and CanSinoBio.
Pakistan has secured more than 18 million doses in donations and purchases and has also started producing the single dose Chinese CanSinoBio vaccine, with the hope of making three million doses a month.
Clifford had previously denied killing Carol Hunt, 61, the wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters, Louise Hunt, 25, and Hannah Hunt, 28. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads guilty to crossbow murders of BBC presenter’s family
A 26-YEAR-OLD man on Wednesday pleaded guilty to murdering two daughters of a BBC sports commentator and stabbing to death their mother in a crossbow attack.
Kyle Clifford had previously denied killing Carol Hunt, 61, the wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters, Louise Hunt, 25, and Hannah Hunt, 28.
However, appearing via video link at Cambridge Crown Court in eastern England, Clifford changed his pleas.
The court heard that Clifford tied up Louise Hunt, his former partner, binding her arms and ankles with duct tape before shooting her in the chest with a crossbow at the family home last July.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of murder, one count of false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons. However, Clifford denied raping Louise.
The murders took place at the family home in the commuter town of Bushey, near Watford, northwest of London.
Clifford was arrested in July following a manhunt after the bodies of the three women were discovered.
(With inputs from AFP)