COVID-19 vaccine updates in Pakistan and around the world.
By Muhammad YaseenPublished On 06 Jan 2023
The coronavirus pandemic continues to grow with second and third waves reported in many countries. Vaccines are, however, also being rolled out in many places. Rich countries have already secured supplies while poorer countries await their turn.
| Vaccine name | Manufacturer | Efficacy | Status | Authorised in | Vaccinations start | |
| BNT161b2 | Pfizer + BioNTech | 95% | Trial phase 2/ 3 | Belgium, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Mexico, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, UK, US, WHO | UK: Dec 8, 2020 Canada: Dec 15, 2020 Saudi Arabia: Dec 17, 2020 Israel: Dec 20, 2020 Qatar: Dec 22, 2020 Mexico: Dec 24, 2020 Serbia: Dec 24, 2020 Kuwait: Dec 24, 2020 Chile: Dec 24, 2020 LatAm: Dec 24, 2020 EU: Dec 27, 2020 Singapore: Dec 30,2020 Jordan: Jan/Feb, 2021 | |
| mRNA1273 | Moderna | 94.50% | Trial phase 3 | US, Canada, Mexico, EU, Israel, UK | US: Dec, 2020 | |
| Canada: Dec, 2020 UK: Spring, 2021 | ||||||
| Ad5-nCoV | CanSino Biologics + The Military Institute of Biology | Results not released | Trial phase 3 | China | China: June 25, 2020 (approved for military use) | |
| Sputnik V | Gamaleya | 91.40% | Trial phase 3 | Russia, Belarus, Argentina, Algeria | Russia: Dec 15, 2020 | |
| Belarus: Dec 29, 2020 | ||||||
| Algeria: Jan 2021 | ||||||
| BBIBP-CorV | Sinopharm-Beijing | 79.34% | China, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Seychelles, Jordan | China: June, July, 2020 (emergency use) Seychelles: Jan 10, 2021 Jordan: Jan 13, 2021 | ||
| UAE: Sept 14, 2020 (emergency use) | ||||||
| Dec 9, 2020: full use | ||||||
| Bahrain: Dec 13, 2020 | ||||||
| ChAdOx1/ AZD1222) | Oxford University + AstraZeneca | 70.4% (up to 90%) | Trial phase 3 | UK, Argentina, India, Mexico | UK: Jan 7, 2021 | |
| India: Jan, 2021 | ||||||
| N/A | Sinopharm- Wuhan | Not known | Trial phase 3 | China, UAE | N/A | |
| CoronaVac | Sinovac Biotech | More than 50% | Trial phase 3 | China, Turkey | China: October, 2020 | |
| Turkey: Mid-Jan, 2021 | ||||||
| EpiVacCorona | Vector Institute | Not known | Trial phase 3 | Russia | N/A | |
| Covaxin | Bharat Biotech | Not known | Trial phase 3 | India | N/A |
Authorities in Pakistan say we will begin vaccinations in the second quarter of 2021. It is not yet known which vaccine out of the eight approved for emergency or full use will be administered in Pakistan.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan says the government is in talks with six leading vaccine makers and the vaccinations will begin for high-risk groups in February or March.
On December 31, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry announced that the cabinet committee had decided to buy China’s Sinopharm vaccine for COVID-19.
Initially, 1.2 million doses will be purchased from Sinopharm, the federal science minister said on Twitter. The vaccine will be given free of charge to frontline workers in the first quarter of 2021.
Earlier, the Sindh government had announced that the COVID-19 vaccine would arrive in Pakistan mid-January. On Tuesday, however, the provincial government said that the federal government had hinted at a delay. The same day, the Cabinet relaxed procurement rules for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Provincial Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho has directed the vaccine coordination cell and officials to ensure smooth supply once inoculation starts at the Karachi Expo Centre.
On Thursday, Parliamentary Secretary for Health Dr. Nausheen Hamid announced that the government is expecting the first shipment of the vaccine to arrive by the end of January.
