ISLAMABAD: Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday received his first injected dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, a video shared by the PM鈥檚 office showed on a day Pakistan reported 3,495 new infections in the last 24 hours, the highest tally since the start of this year.

Pakistan, with a population of 220 million, is largely reliant on the COVAX vaccine sharing initiative for poorer nations.

China鈥檚 Sinopharm and CansinoBio, Sputnik-V and the AstraZeneca vaccines are approved for emergency use in Pakistan, which hasn鈥檛 secured any vaccine from manufacturing companies and is relying so far on donations.

The country is vaccinating frontline health workers and older population with over one million doses of Sinopharm donated by longtime ally China.

鈥淧rime Minister Imran Khan has gotten the coronavirus vaccine,鈥� his office said in a tweet, showing Khan being administered the jab. 鈥淥n the occasion, the Prime Minister appealed to the nation to ensure full implementation of SOPs in view of the third wave of coronavirus.鈥�

鈥淚n the first phase, corona vaccine is being provided to people over 60 years of age and front line workers,鈥� the PM鈥檚 Office said.

PM Khan is 68.

Earlier on Thursday planning minister Asad Umar, who also heads the Pakistan government鈥檚 central body dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), warned about a spike in coronavirus cases.

鈥淗ospital daily admissions & people in critical care rising fast. If sop [standard operating procedure] compliance does not improve, we will be forced to place stronger restrictions on activities. Please be very very careful. The new strain spreads faster and is more deadly.鈥�