KARACHI – The Sindh High Court (SHC) has allowed the private company that had imported COVID-19 vaccine from Russia to start selling the doses.
The court issued the ruling while hearing an appeal made by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) against the selling of the Sputnik V vaccine.
The counsel for the importer argued that the prices fixed by the government did not apply to the imported vaccine as they were fixed after the doses were imported.
The lawyer however said that his client will voluntarily submit details about the current market price of the Russian vaccine, local media reported.
The court remarked that stopping the sale of the vaccine is against the public interest, adding that permission has been granted for its sale but the hearing on the petition would continue.
The development comes a day after the high court ordered the authorities to determine the price of Sputnik V within a week.
During the hearing, DRAP’s lawyer said that a stay order had been issued regarding the price of the Russian vaccine.
The government and the importer are at odds over the price of the vaccine as the latter saw the rates fixed by the officials inappropriate.
The DRAP had recommended fixing the price of double-dose Sputnik vaccine at Rs8,500 and CanSinoBio’s single-dose price at Rs4,500, the sources said.
