"The Pakistani Medicines Regulatory Authority has granted emergency use of the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine," Pakistani Health Minister Faisal Sultan said.

The vaccine from AstraZeneca is the first approved coronavirus vaccine in Pakistan.

At the first stage, the authorities plan to vaccinate doctors and people over 65 years old.

The minister also said that Pakistan is negotiating coronavirus vaccines with five more Russian and Western companies.

At the end of December, Britain was the first in the world to register the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The use of the AstraZeneca vaccine has also been approved in Argentina.

The European Medicines Agency is expected to approve the AstraZeneca vaccine on January 29.