Pakistan to get 17m doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, first batch in April
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The British High Commission in Pakistan has stated that 17 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine will reach Pakistan by April, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Sunday.
In a statement, the British High Commission said “The first consignment of seven million doses of AstraZeneca Covid vaccine will reach Pakistan before April.”
“Next 10 million doses of the vaccine will be dispatched to Pakistan before June,” said the statement.
Pakistan has secured 17 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine under the COVAX arrangement. The COVAX facility is an initiative by the World Health Organization to ensure the fair distribution of coronavirus vaccines around the world.
“AstraZeneca vaccine will benefit around 8.5 million Pakistani citizens”, the British mission said and added “Pakistan will receive overall 45 million COVID-19 vaccine doses under the COVAX scheme this year.”
“The people of the UK and Pakistan will fight against the coronavirus side by side,” British High Commissioner Christian Turner has said. “The United Kingdom has provided 20 million pounds aid to Pakistan for its fight against the pandemic,” the envoy said.
The WHO has declared that AstraZeneca vaccine has been safe for people with 18 years of age to 65 years and above.
It is to be mentioned here that a new trial is scheduled this month to test how well the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine works in children.
Anhui Zhifei vaccine trials
Pakistan’s drug regulator on Sunday granted permission to a Chinese company for third phase clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate in the country. “The clinical trials committee of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has granted permission to China’s Anhui Zhifei longcom for clinical trials of its vaccine,” reported INP news agency quoting sources.
China’s bio-pharmaceutical company, Anhui Zhifei had sought permission for clinical trials in Pakistan in December 2020.
The Chinese pharma company initially, will conduct third phase clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate in Karachi and Lahore.
Anhui Zhifei longcom will conduct its vaccine’s clinical trials in Karachi at a private hospital, while in Lahore at the University of Health Sciences and another private health facility, according to the sources.
“In Pakistan 9,000 volunteers will participate in clinical trials of the Anhui Zhifei vaccine,” sources said.