Pakistan's allocation for vaccine purchase raised to $250m

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has raised its allotted funds to $250 million to buy the Covid-19 vaccine and has concluded non-disclosure arrangements with separate multinational corporations.

Under the deal, specifics of the vaccination will not be made public by the receiving government.

Earlier, $150m was set aside by the government for the vaccine.

Talking to Dawn, National Health Services (NHS) Parliamentary Secretary Dr Nausheen Hamid said the budget for the procurement of vaccines had been raised to $250 million.

In order to ensure that we get a vaccine, we can sign a buying agreement with more than one organisation (in case any of the available vaccine fails). Russia has recently given us the vaccine as well. However as public health is our highest concern, we are looking at its protection and efficacy,” she said.

Dr Nausheen Hamid, when asked when the vaccine would be available, said it was anticipated that distribution of the vaccine would begin by the end of the first quarter of next year.

“We’re not going to give everyone the vaccine, though. According to our target list, healthcare professionals handling Covid-19 patients and persons above the age of 65 would be vaccinated in the first level. The remaining healthcare staff and persons above 60 years of age will gain priority in the second level. In addition, GAVI has already promised to supply 450 million people with vaccines for the 20-pc community, she added.

By the end of 2021, Dr Nausheen Hamid said it will be open to the masses.

The Parliamentary Secretary, replying to another query, said that Pfizer had provided special containers to preserve the cold chain, adding that the vaccine could be stored for five days in regular freezers.

A senior NHS ministry official, requesting not to be quoted, said there were six prospective companies around the world and not only did the ministry negotiate with them but also concluded non-disclosure agreements with some of them because of the exchange of vaccine trial data and development.

The Chinese vaccine is already being studied in Pakistan, so we’re going to get it on a priority basis. We can get between 100,000 and 500,000 doses by the end of February or in March, as per the assurances provided by the firms. The vaccine will be provided to the most susceptible groups, such as healthcare workers dealing with people with Covid-19,” he said.

The official said Pakistan was a developing country and funds could go to waste as there was a risk factor involved when asked why the vaccine could not be arranged in the current month or at the beginning of next year.

The population of Canada is just 40 million, but it has made advance payments for 250 million doses to numerous firms. The doses have been booked over six months, as certain businesses might announce study failure at any moment, he added.

In addition, we are part of the Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunization (GAVI) Covax, in which there are 189 nations and we will provide free vaccines for 20% of the population. I hope that in the second quarter of 2021 we will receive the vaccine for 3 percent of our population and the rest by the end of 2021. There will however, be concerns about the vaccine’s cold chain management as it will not be easy to distribute the vaccine around the world,’ the official added.

He said that when the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) took on board the vaccine registration regulations, it claimed that any vaccine licenced in developing countries could be automatically approved for emergency use.

However the reply placed a question mark on the Chinese vaccine as I am afraid it might not be registered in developing countries (Chinese vaccine) and a thorough analysis would be required to register the vaccine with Drap, he added.

When approached, Dr Rana Safdar, Head of the Polio Program and Extended Immunisation Program, acknowledged that there was a cold chain management problem.

“In order to ensure the availability of the vaccine around the world, we have been updating our cold chain management system. While it is easy to plan cold storage for maintenance of -70 degrees Celsius, they can only be used for the Covid-19 vaccine as most vaccines are kept at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, he added.

Dr Safdar said foreign corporations could be recommended to have Covid-19 vaccines in various cities as the vaccine could be kept for up to five days in regular freezers.

In the other hand, some health advocates have recommended that wait-and-see approaches be implemented because the vaccine may have chronic consequences, such as early diabetes and arthritis.

Prof. Dr. Javaid Usman, a microbiologist, told Dawn that while the United Kingdom, the United States and some other countries allowed the vaccine to be used in an emergency, it was too early for them.

It can take 10 months to a year to see if there are any chronic consequences of the vaccines.’ While the US has approved emergency use, it will take some time to reach much of the population, I am sure. We are not late in any way, since the vaccine may have side effects. In the past, after a report was published in a renowned journal that claimed autism was developing among children because of the vaccination, people started having their children’s measles vaccine, Prof Usman added.

“However the reply put a question mark on the Chinese vaccine because I am concerned that it the Chinese vaccine) may not be registered in developed countries and that a detailed study will be required to register the vaccine with Drap,” he added.

When approached, Dr Rana Safdar, Head of the Polio Program and Extended Immunisation Program, acknowledged that there was a cold chain management problem.

Dr Safdar said foreign corporations could be recommended to have Covid-19 vaccines in various cities as the vaccine could be kept for up to five days in regular freezers.

In the other hand, some health advocates have recommended that wait-and-see approaches be implemented because the vaccine may have chronic consequences, such as early diabetes and arthritis.

In order to see if the vaccines have any chronic consequences, it can take 10 months to one year. While the US has approved emergency use, it will take some time to reach much of the population, I am sure. We are not late in any way, since the vaccine may have side effects. In the past, after a report was published in a renowned journal that claimed autism was developing among children because of the vaccination, people started having their children’s measles vaccine, Prof Usman added.

Prior to administration, vaccine safety, effectiveness and supply should be considered. In addition, since the virus has been mutating, there is a risk that the vaccine might stop working. That’s why new influenza vaccines are released every year since the virus mutates itself, he said.

NCOC data

There were 2,729 new cases and 71 deaths recorded in a single day according to statistics published by the National Command and Operation Center.

The data shows that 67% of the ventilators in Multan, 51pc in Islamabad, 36pc in Lahore and 31pc in Peshawar were occupied. There were 355 vents in operation throughout the nation in total.

The national positive ratio was 6.59pc, with the highest observed at 20.88pc in Karachi, followed by 15.05pc in Peshawar and 11.2pc in Muzaffarabad.