Pakistan has not issued a final import law on Covid-19 and no one who has developed a vaccine has accepted the country’s request for a vaccine, said a senior government official in the Imran Khan government.
In a telephone interview with The News International, Dr Faisal Khan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Health said: “Nevertheless, we are working hard to get the first batch of Covid-19 vaccine early for our top staff and others but the final order has not been placed and accepted (by any manufacturer vaccine). “
On January 13, Dawn had announced that the only impediment to importing Covid-19 vaccine from Chinese state-owned company Sinopharm would be removed soon with its Phase I trial in Karachi reaching its final stage.
While Pakistan reported a total of 514,338 Covid-19 cases and 10,863 deaths, the country’s top health expert said that although Chinese Sinopharm had submitted its details to the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) no agreement had been reached regarding its acquisition.
This revelation comes as many countries have begun offering Covid-19 drugs.