ISLAMABAD: Government has approved the allocation of $100 million and asked the concerned authorities to make advance payment for procurement of the COVID-19 vaccine at the earliest.
The actual cost of the COVID-19 vaccine is not yet available and the government decided to ensure timely procurement and Prime Minister Imran Khan has nodded the efforts should be made to buy the vaccine.
The Government has also decided that different segments of society, such as senior citizens, health practitioners and people suffering from chronic diseases, will be prioritized for the vaccine that will be available in limited numbers during the ongoing winter season.
As far the international market is concerned no company has announced the cost of vaccine and not a single company has got the approval to sell the vaccine as the clinical trial data is limited, said Dr Asad Hafeez, Chairman of the National Vaccine Committee.
He said international pharma compnies like Pfizer and BioNTech, have announced that the phase-III clinical trials of their vaccines had shown 90 per cent efficacy in preventing the disease among those who have not contracted the virus, but they are in the process of compiling the data.
Dr Asad, who is also Vice Chancellor of the Health Services Academy (HSA), said that once data will be completed they will submit it with United States Food and Drugs Authority and with similar regulatory authority of the European Union. “It may take another four weeks or so”, Dr Asad Hafeez said.
He was of the view that the pharma comapnies will get the emergency use or transit permission for use of vaccine and after one year they may get full approval to sell the vaccine. No difference for the general public will be on cards if the vaccine is sold under transit or full permission.
\The Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) has been interacting and negotiating with half a dozen multinational companies to get the vaccine at the earliest,” he said.
Government was very close to finalize the process for the procurement of the vaccine, he said, adding that it would take a few more months to get the vaccine.
