Asad Umar says that budget for Covid-19 vaccines can be raised

Asad Umar, chairman of the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), has said that the $150 million budget earmarked for the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines, approved by the cabinet, can be upped.

In a Geo News program, the Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives rubbished the idea that Pakistan does not plan on buying vaccines.

Answering a question by the show host regarding National Health Service (NHS) Secretary Amir Ashraf Khawaja reporting to the Public Accounts Committee, the minister said that the government seeks to fight coronavirus through herd immunity and donated vaccines and has no plan to buy doses at least this year.