ISLAMABAD: Pakistan had decided to purchase 1.2 million doses of coronavirus vaccine from China’s Sinopharm which has recently been approved by the Chinese regulator.
Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudry said the Cabinet Committee has decided to initially purchase 1.2 million doses of the vaccine from the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm.
He said the does will be provided free of cost to frontline workers in the first quarter of 2021. He added that the private sector can also import the vaccine approved internationally.
China approved a COVID-19 vaccine developed by an affiliate of state-backed pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm, making it the first approved shot for general public use.
کابینہ کمیٹی نے فیصلہ کیا ہے کہ ابتدائ طور پر چین کی کمپنی سائنوفارم سے ویکسین کی بارہ لاکھ Doses خریدی جائیں گی جو 2021 کی پہلی سہ ماہی میں فرنٹ لائن ورکرز کو مفت مہیا کی جائیں گی، پرائیویٹ سیکٹر اگر کوئ اور بینالاقوامی طور پر منظور شدہ ویکسین امپورٹ کرنا چاہےتو وہ بھی کرسکتا ہے
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) December 31, 2020
Federal Minister Asad Umar, who also heads the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), had informed on Wednesday that cabinet committee has approved the procurement of over one million units of coronavirus vaccines
“Held a meeting of cabinet committee for procurement of vaccines. Authorized procurement of more than 1 million vaccines which will cover all frontline health workers,” he said, adding the target t is to deploy these vaccines within the first quarter of 2021”.
He said Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has to approve a vaccine. According to a statement by NCOC, Pakistan is in close contact with vaccine manufacturers to obtain a vaccine soon.
A meeting chaired by Asad Umar was apprised that a number of countries have pre-booked COVID-19 vaccine based on preliminary results in order to ensure timely availability of vaccines. In some situations, vaccines were pre-booked even in development stages to ensure availability.
The committee was informed of the deliberations of an expert committee formed by DRAP which is reviewing and analyzing available data from clinical studies performed so far. The data from one company has been submitted for review to the committee for final adjudication for emergency use.
In line with global practices at present whereby emergency procurement has to be made at times with incomplete and evolving information, the committee decided to pre-book COVID-19 vaccine from Sinopharm.
It was also decided that other manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccine will continue to be engaged in for future bookings for the remaining phases of vaccination, based on further data and availability.
The committee reiterated that the private sector will also be encouraged to approach DRAP and follow the laid down procedures for emergency use authorization of any available and safe COVID-19 vaccine.
