ISLAMABAD– Thousands of young Pakistanis who are not eligible for free vaccinations are trying to get inoculated at private medical facilities, days after the first round of commercial sales of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine began in this impoverished Islamic nation.

The development comes after a Pakistani pharmaceutical firm imported more than 50,000 doses of the Russian vaccine.

Since February, Pakistan has been using Chinese vaccines to protect health workers and people over 50.

The latest development comes a day after Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Islamabad will buy 5 million doses of Russia's COVID-19 Sputnik V vaccine and expressed a desire to eventually manufacture it in Pakistan.

Pakistan has reported 15,124 deaths due to the pandemic and is in the middle of a third surge of infections, which has forced authorities to impose a partial lockdown.