For Mahwish Bhatti, choosing a private laboratory to be vaccinated against the coronavirus was a last resort.

"I was desperate. I panicked," the 35-year-old from Lahore, Pakistan, told the BBC over the phone. "My mother was still waiting for her second dose of the vaccine, so I thought my turn would never come. I thought to myself, I will just buy whatever vaccine is available."

Bhatti, who lost her job recently, had to pay more than 12,000 rupees ($78; £56) to a private lab from her personal savings to get the Russian-made Sputnik V jab. She laughingly adds: "I did get one jab of vaccines, but also one jab to my wallet."

But the decision may yet turn out to be one of the best she has ever made. Bhatti is now among the less than 2% of the country to receive a dose so far - able to skip the long line by paying a price out of reach to many Pakistanis.

And now cases are on the rise, hitting record highs this week. The funeral pyres burning just across the border in India are a stark reminder of just how quickly matters can escalate when it comes to Covid.

Already Pakistan has seen active cases go from as low as 16,000 in the first week of March, to more than 140,000 new cases in April alone, as well as over 3,000 deaths - making it the worst month since the pandemic began.

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