US delivers second shipment of Covid vaccines doses to Pakistan

The US State Department announced that it had delivered the second US shipment of three million Moderna Covid-19 vaccine doses to Pakistan yesterday.

This donation is part of the 80 million doses the United States is sharing with the world, delivering on our pledge to facilitate equitable global access to safe and effective vaccines, which are essential to ending the COVID-19 pandemic.  As President Biden has said, the United States is committed to bringing the same urgency to international vaccination efforts that we have demonstrated at home.

“We are here today because we share a common goal – supporting access to COVID-19 vaccines for the populations that need them the most,” said U.S. Embassy Chargé d’affaires Angela P. Aggeler.  “The arrival of these three million doses is in addition to the 2.5 million doses the United States donated earlier this month to the people of Pakistan.  These vaccines, which come from our own domestic vaccine supply, are a clear demonstration of President Biden’s promise – and our promises kept – to stand with the people of Pakistan in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.”  

The United States has delivered more than $50 million in COVID-19 assistance through our partnership with the Government of Pakistan.  Since the start of the pandemic, the United States has worked together with Pakistan to improve infection prevention and control, enhance patient care, expand laboratory testing, disease monitoring, and case tracking in all districts, and support frontline healthcare workers.  Earlier this month, the U.S. government provided 2.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine to the Pakistani people, for a total of 5.5 million doses from the United States’ own vaccine supply.

Separately, the United States through USAID has contributed $2 billion to support COVAX, making the United States the single largest contributor to global COVID-19 vaccine access.  Pakistan has received 2.4 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine since May as part of the COVAX effort.

US Foreign Secretary Antony Blinken also announced the delivery of vaccine to Pakistan.

“An additional three million Moderna vaccine doses were handed over to Pakistan today. The United States is sharing our vaccine supply with Pakistan to ensure that people around the world have equitable access to safe and effective vaccines. Together we can end this pandemic,” Blinken said.

At a handover ceremony with Dr. Faisal Sultan, U.S. Embassy Chargé d’affaires Angela Aggeler said, “We are here today because we share a common goal – supporting access to COVID-19 vaccines for the populations that need them the most.”