ISLAMABAD: As the country deals with the third wave of coronavirus cases, the federal cabinet has decided to set a maximum retail price of the Russian and Chinese coronavirus vaccine injections, being imported by the private sector.
In this regard, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) took the decision regarding the price of the vaccine during an emergency meeting convened by the regulatory authority.
According to media reports that cited a notification by the Health Ministry, the maximum sale price of Sputnik V Russian vaccine has been fixed at Rs 8,449 for two doses, while China’s Convidecia would be sold at no more than Rs4,225 per injection.
Earlier, China had approved its first single-shot Covid-19 vaccine for general use in February, which Pakistan has priced at Rs4, 225.
The government has determined the price of Gam-Covid-Vac (Viral Vector 5 and Viral Vector 26) at Rs8,449 per pack of two injections, Rs16,560 per pack of four injections, Rs40,555 per pack of 10 injections and Rs81,110 per pack of 20 injections.
The government had approved a $200 million loan as part of its overall plan to immunize nearly 70 million people against the virus during the current year.
Furthermore, the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have offered loans to low and middle-income countries to procure vaccines. The WB has recently restructured its worth $153 million Covid-19 related loan, which the health ministry said would be sufficient to cover over 10.5 million population.
Pakistan recorded 3,667 new cases of COVID-19 and 44 more deaths across the country during the last twenty-four hours.
According to the latest statistics from National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the total number of cases from the novel coronavirus has surged to 626,802. The death toll from the virus has reached 13,843 as the situation worsens across the country.
As many as 31,107 active cases in the country while 2,900 people remain in critical condition. A total of 41,960 tests were conducted across the country during this period. The positivity ratio was recorded at 8.7 percent during the past day.
