ISLAMABAD – Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said that a decision to allow uncapped prices for coronavirus vaccines imported by private companies has been reversed.
The statement comes after Pakistan received first batch of Russia-mad Sputnik-V vaccine imported by a local company.
“Now, however, there is a formula, already in vogue, to determine maximum price,” Dr Sultan told Reuters.
“So yes, there is a price cap that DRAP (Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan) will recommend and get approval for.”
An official with M/s AGP Ltd, the company that imported the 50,000 vaccine doses, said that it will be available to public after the government agreed on a price.
The first shipment of privately imported Russian COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, arrived at the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on Wednesday night.
The double-dose Sputnik V vaccine is the first COVID-19 vaccine accessible in the private sector in Pakistan. Previously, the nation depended on the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, which was donated to the Pakistan government by Chinese authorities to vaccinate frontline healthcare staff and the elderly.
In the last week of January 2021, the Pakistan Drug Regulatory Authority (DRAP) issued emergency use authorization to the Russian COVID-19 vaccine.
