ISLAMABAD: The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRUG) has approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, and now the local population can be inoculated with it.
According to details, the DRAP Registration Board has granted permission of use under section VII of the Drug Act 1976. The registration board approved the vaccine’s use for children above 12 years of age, thus becoming the first vaccine that can be administered to children in Pakistan.
The vaccine now will be administered to people with low immunity, including, pregnant women and aspiring pilgrims (hajjis) who are above 40. More than 100,000 doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine had arrived in Pakistan through the COVAX facility.
The doses had reached Islamabad Friday morning with the help of UNICEF, it said in a statement on Facebook. UNICEF had said that a consignment containing diluents as well as syringes is expected in the next two days.
Vaccination in Pakistan
Pakistan began the vaccination drive in February and has inoculated more than 4.7 million people, with 211,986 jabs being administered in the last 24 hours.
A digital portal has been launched by the federal government for registrations through which a code is assigned to a person. The citizens can then go to a designated vaccination centre and get a jab. People can also message their CNIC number on 1166 and get themselves registered for the vaccine.
According to NCOC, AstraZeneca would be administered to people above 40-years, while people above 18-years will be inoculated with Sinopharm, Cansino, and Sinovac. The duration between the two doses is 12 weeks for AstraZeneca, 3 weeks for Sinopharm, and 4 weeks for Sinovac.
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is the sixth vaccine in Pakistan for expediting the process of vaccination to curb the spread of the virus. Pakistan will likely receive two new consignments of COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX including Oxford AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines.
Pakistan to buy 1m doses of Pfizer’s vaccine
Meanwhile, the federal government has decided to buy one million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus mRNA vaccine. A bilateral agreement has been made between Pfizer and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to procure the vaccines.
Officials said Pakistan would receive 1 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine in July or August, while 23 ultra-cold chain freezers have been purchased to store the vaccine.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan also confirmed that they were in talks with Pfizer to procure the vaccine through a bilateral agreement but added that the deal was not final yet.
