Pakistan has agreed to procure 13 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from US pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc (NYSELPFE), Reuters news agency reported on Tuesday.

The health minister of Pakistan, Faisal Sultan, told Reuters that an exact timeline was not yet available, but said the doses would arrive by the end of 2021, under an agreement the government has made with the manufacturer.

So far, Pakistan has primarily used COVID-19 vaccines from Chinese companies Sinopharm, CanSinoBio and Sinovac in its inoculation drive. Earlier this month, the country began allowing those under 40 to receive the COVID-19 from AstraZeneca (LON:AZN), of which it has a limited supply meant for people travelling to countries that require it.

On 29 May 2021, Pakistan received 100,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine through the COVAX facility, but authorities have only administered those to people who are immunocompromised and not suitable for other vaccines.

According to the National Command Operation Centre, which is overseeing the pandemic response, nearly 13 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country of 220 million people so far, with about 3.5 million people fully vaccinated.