Pakistan needs to pump up more funds to speed up its coronavirus vaccination drive in order to protect lives amidCOVID-19 the third wave, stated the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) in its latest bulletin.

“Pakistan lags behind all other countries of the region in vaccination. We were the last ones to take up the vaccine and the rate of administering it continues to be slower than in other countries,” stated the PIDE bulletin titled ‘Vaccine for All’ by Dr. Durre Nayab, a demographer at PIDE.

The report was of the view in its pursuit to provide vaccination for all, the biggest challenge is to allocate ample funds needed to serve the cause, more so in the financial crunch prevailing in the country.

“The federal government has allocated Rs. 25 billion for the procurement of the COVID-19 vaccine but much more is needed,” the report said.

Giving different scenarios on the cost of the vaccine obtained by the government of Pakistan, the report stated that in the absence of price capping, the vaccination value in the market can be very unpredictable but estimates based on the basic cost show that vaccine for all should range between 0.58 percent to 1.21pc of the previous year’s GDP.

The report added that the estimates can go even a little lower if we take the cost of vaccines received free from China and those expected under the Covax.

“We are already too late! Spending near to 1% of the GDP is not an easy financial decision but, in this case, it is an unavoidable one,” the report said.

PIDE report suggested that Pakistan should now focus on making bulk orders to get a better rate; curb the spread of misinformation regarding vaccination rumors.

The report also called for the local pharmaceutical industry to gear up for the homegrown production of a COVID-19 vaccine. “Local vaccines, considering local variants and genetics, can help improve the efficacy of the vaccine as well if done right,” it stated.