Pakistan launches locally produced COVID-19 vaccine

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Pakistan on Tuesday launched the locally produced single-dose CanSino COVID-19 vaccine with the help of China.

Renamed as Pakvac, the vaccine has been prepared and packed at the state-run National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad under the supervision of Chinese experts.

Beijing transferred the technology, and the raw material for the vaccine to Islamabad in April this year.

Addressing the launch ceremony in capital Islamabad, Faisal Sultan, adviser to the prime minister on health affairs, congratulated the NIH staff, observing that producing vaccine from the raw material was “not an easy task.”

He also thanked Beijing for assisting Islamabad to locally produce the vaccine.

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong, in his remarks, said his country will continue to assist Pakistan in its fight against the pandemic.

Initially, some 118,000 doses of Pakvac vaccine have been produced.

Pakistan was among the first countries to take part in the clinical trial of China's CanSino vaccine.

Beijing has already provided over 1.5 million doses to Islamabad as a "gift", and promised to provide more jabs.

Islamabad has so far approved the emergency use of China's Sinopharm, CanSino, and Sinovac, UK’s AstraZeneca, Russia’s Sputnik, and German-funded Pfizer vaccines in the country.

So far, out of 207 million population, nearly 8 million people have been inoculated. Islamabad plans to inoculate 70 million people by the end of this year.