Pakistan to roll out three million doses of PakVac every month
Pakistan has launched the locally produced coronavirus vaccine PakVac amid the lowest positivity rate since March 1 this year.
The development comes weeks after China supplied its CanSino vaccine in bulk in a concentrated form for filling and packaging in Pakistan.
The laboratory has the capacity for rolling out three million doses a month.
The PakVac vaccine has been developed by Tianjin-based Cansino Biologics Inc and is being brought to Pakistan in a concentrated form, where it is packaged at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad.
Minister Asad Umar, who is the chief of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), inaugurated the antisera processing plant and launched 120,000 doses of PakVac.
Asad Umar said the first locally processed coronavirus vaccine in Pakistan was nothing short of a revolution amid the high vaccine demand all over the world.
The launching ceremony of PakVac, held at the NIH, was attended by Minister Asad Umar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, NIH Executive Director Maj Gen Prof Aamer Ikram and Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong.
Chinese Ambassador termed the collaboration “a new stride of Sino-Pak cooperation which contributes to Pakistan’s anti-pandemic efforts and joint efforts in building a global community of health for all.”
Trials and efficacy
Cansino was the first Chinese vaccine to have undergone clinical trial in Pakistan and was administered to around 18,000 people.
In the Pakistani subset, the efficacy of the CanSinoBIO vaccine at preventing symptomatic cases was 74.8% and 100% at preventing severe disease, according to Dr Faisal Sultan.