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The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has finally approved two vaccines for emergency use in Pakistan. The first one – Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine is likely to cost around $6-7 per dose according to a vaccine importer in Pakistan.
Usman Ghani of the Sindh Medical Stores, an importer of vaccines and pharmaceuticals, said, “Since the government has allowed it [the Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine] and given us the nod to import the consignments, we have estimated that it would be available to the government for something between US$6 and US$7.”
The vaccine importer also said that the government has already given the go for the procurement for vaccines and the Prime Minister has also requested to accelerate the process, however, it is difficult to answer when the vaccine might actually be available as the company is still waiting for approval from DRAP to import the vaccines.
He also stated that the vaccine supply might not even be enough for Pakistan as the supplier is already exporting to countries like India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan that have already paid in advance for the vaccines. As AstraZeneca is busy supplying the vaccine to other countries, there is no definite timeline that can be confirmed for Pakistan. A Chinese vaccine by Sinopharm has also been approved for import by DRAP but the importer did not mention if it was a candidate for them.
