Pakistan has launched its first locally manufactured coronavirus vaccine, PakVac with the assistance of a Chinese company on Tuesday.

According to 24NewsHD TV channel, Federal Minister Asad Umar Tuesday announced the achievement and said Pakistan had prepared the first consignment of 120,000 doses of the PakVac.

He confirmed that the local vaccine was prepared with the raw material of the Chinese private company’s vaccine, SinoVac after importing it in Pakistan.

The federal minister further confirmed that Pakistan had the potential to produce three million doses of PakVac corona vaccine per month at the local plant. Pakistani health authorities termed the production of locally made vaccines an important step to help Pakistani’s vaccine supply line.

Federal Parliamentary Secretary of National Health Services Dr. Nausheen said that PakVac is the first vaccine to be developed and packaged in Pakistan.

It is relevant to note that the Economic Coordination Committee of the finance ministry has approved a Rs20 billion budget to purchase 10 million coronavirus vaccine doses.

It may be mentioned here that NCOC had already announced to start scheduling vaccination of registered 18 plus from June 3rd.

“With this step, the vaccination of all eligible age groups would be carried out.

https://twitter.com/fslsltn/status/1396867871796563972   

its worth mentioning that the World Health Organization (WHO) Tuesday also approved the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use -- the second Chinese jab to receive the WHO's green light.

The UN health agency signed off on the two-dose vaccine, which is already being deployed in several countries around the world.

"WHO today validated the Sinovac-CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use," it said in a statement.

The move gives countries, funders, procuring agencies, and communities "assurance that it meets international standards for safety, efficacy, and manufacturing".

The Sinovac jab is already in use in 22 territories around the world, according to an AFP count.

Apart from China, the countries using Sinovac include Pakistan, Chile, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand, and Turkey.

"WHO recommends the vaccine for use in adults 18 years and older, in a two-dose schedule with a spacing of two to four weeks," the agency said.

"Vaccine efficacy results showed that the vaccine prevented symptomatic disease in 51 percent of those vaccinated and prevented severe Covid-19 and hospitalization in 100 percent of the studied population."