Pakistan approves third Chinese vaccine for emergency use

KARACHI: The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to another Chinese vaccine CoronaVac.

This is the fifth coronavirus vaccine and the third Chinese vaccine to be approved for use in the country. Pakistan has granted authorization to China’s two-dose Sinopharm and single-dose Convidecia vaccine developed by the Cansino Biologicals Inc. UK’s AstraZeneca and Russian Sputnik V vaccines have also been approved by the DRAP.

The CoronaVac vaccine has a lower efficacy rate but was allowed by health authorities amid the intensifying third wave of the pandemic. “DRAP’s registration board in its 304th meeting on Thursday gave Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) to CoronaVac vaccine, developed by the Sinovac Life Sciences Company Ltd., based in Beijing, China,” said a statement by the regulator.

Currently, two Chinese and one Russian vaccine are being used in the public and private sector hospitals. Pakistan is expecting to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine under the COVAX programme but the shipment has been delayed due to supply constraints, after India shop shipments to address domestic needs.

The DRAP said an expert committee had recommended emergency use authorisation for the CoronaVac vaccine, although its data was not published and overall efficacy was around 56%.

The efficacy of CoronaVac has been found to be 91.25% and 85.3% in in Turkey and Indonesia respectively. It is already being used in China, Turkey, Indonesia, Brazil, and some Middle Eastern countries.

The company provided its safety and efficacy data to the expert committee and gave the approval on its recommendations due to the urgent need in Pakistan.

The CoronaVac is a traditional vaccine and can be stored at 2-8°C which makes it ideal for countries like Pakistan without ultra-cold chain refrigerators.

The phase III clinical trials of a triple-dose Chinese vaccine, developed by the Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical Company Ltd, are also underway in Lahore, Faisalabad, and other cities of Pakistan.