Islamabad, Feb 1 (IANS): Pakistan on Monday received the first batch of China's Sinopharm vaccine against the novel coronavirus.

This batch, brought to Islamabad aboard a special Pakistan Air Force (PAF) aircraft, contains 500,000 doses of the vaccine, Dawn news reported.

Taking to Twitter, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health (SAPM) Faisal Sultan said: "Grateful to China and everyone who made this happen. The NCOC and provinces played an instrumental role in tackling Covid.

"I salute our frontline healthcare workers for their efforts and they'll be first to get vaccinated."

According to a statement by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), a vaccine handing over ceremony will be held at the Noor Khan Airbase later in the day and will be attended by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong.

Last week, Umar had announced that the vaccination drive will begin in Pakistan this week, starting with frontline health workers.

As of Monday, the country has registered a total of 546,428 coronavirus cases and 11,683 deaths.