Govt gives go-ahead to Sinopharm, Sputnik-V vaccines for over-60s use

Pakistan’s drug regulatory authorities have approved two Covid-19 vaccines for people above 60 years of age.

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) committee has approved China's Sinopharm and Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines, while the former was already being used to vaccinate frontline health workers.

The committee rolled out its decision after examining data from China, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Meanwhile, Pakistan will be among the biggest recipients of free Covid-19 vaccines before June — more than 10 million doses — the COVAX scheme had announced on Tuesday last.

Some 238.2 million doses will be distributed around the world by the end of May through the programme aimed at boosting access to coronavirus jabs in poorer nations.

With fifty-two new casualties, the overall death toll in Pakistan has reached 13,128. As many as 556,000 patients, however, recovered from the virus. There are 17,177 active cases of COVID-19 across the country.