As the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) will be starting vaccination for people over 18 years of age from Thursday, the government Monday decided to approve a grant of $130 million (about Rs20 billion) to purchase 10m doses of Covid-19 vaccine before June 30.
The estimated amount required to inoculate the target population of 72m against coronavirus is $1.5bn.
However, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said the government was aiming to vaccinate the maximum number of people before Eidul Azha to avoid imposing lockdown.