Sindh govt all set to procure 10 million doses of CanSino Bio COVID vaccine

(Karachi) As part of efforts to immunize the people against coronavirus disease, the Sindh government has written a letter to a local firm for booking of CanSino Bio's 10 million doses of COVID vaccine, local media reported on Friday.

As per details, the provincial government has written a letter to AJM Pharma (Pvt) Ltd which is officially authorized to distribute the COVID vaccine in Pakistan.

The letter was sent by the Sindh health department after a meeting of the Provincial Task Force. The company has been asked to share the schedule of delivery and the prices of the vaccine with the department for further process.

On April 1, China's CanSinoBio stated that the efficacy rate for its single-dose drug may fall over time although it should still have a rate of 50 percent or more five to six months after inoculation.

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) had approved the CanSino vaccine among four others and declared it safe and effective after trials. CanSino Biologics Inc. is one of the main suppliers of COVID vaccines to Pakistan. The government is planning to import CanSino vaccine jabs in bulk to package three million doses locally.

CanSinoBIO’s chief scientific officer Zhu Tao said that a second shot given to trial participants six months after their first injection could offer substantial protection against the virus.

The government had announced it will receive shipments of China’s CanSino Biologics coronavirus vaccine for commercial sale.

Health officials said the single-dose Chinese vaccine could be administered to people of all ages as it was found effective among people from 18 to 80 plus years of age during trials in Pakistan and other countries of the world.

They said that the CanSino Biologics Inc.’s vaccine would also be ‘manufactured partially in Pakistan,’ following its successful conclusion of trials at five leading health institutions in the country.