Pakistanis join final trials for China-made vaccine
We hope to have some findings ready about the accuracy and efficacy of the vaccine in two to three months: Ejaz; around 15m individuals exposed to the virus in Pakistan: Study
Thousands of volunteers are flocking to research hospitals across Pakistan to join final-stage clinical trials of a Chinese-made vaccine for the coronavirus.
It is the first time Pakistan has participated in such a trial, which comes amid a string of positive vaccine announcements by Western pharmaceutical companies this month.
The vaccine is being developed by Cansinobio and the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology China.
“I have volunteered myself for a noble cause that will help humanity,” said a volunteer at Islamabad’s Shifa Hospital, where hundreds of participants are being paid about $50 for their trouble.
Others should “step forward and take part in this noble cause which will save lives,” he added.
For years, China has focused much of its attention in Pakistan on mammoth development projects, bankrolling the construction of roads, power plants and a strategic port.
Beijing has now tapped one of its closest allies to participate in the vaccine trials, despite Pakistan’s chequered history with inoculation campaigns.
“We hope to have some findings ready about the accuracy and efficacy of the vaccine in two to three months,” Ejaz Ahmad Khan, the principal researcher overseeing the trial in Pakistan, said.
Officials said Pakistan has already inoculated about 7,000 of the 10,000 participants expected to receive a jab.
The trials come with intensive care wards across the country nearing capacity as a second, deadlier wave of the coronavirus spreads and officials struggle to counter public indifference to the pandemic.
The country has confirmed more than 382,000 cases including over 7,800 deaths since the virus arrived in late February.
Less than a year ater the coronavirus that has claimed 1.4 million lives began spreading across the globe, a number of highly promising COVID-19 vaccines are on the cusp of release.
Four separate drug makers have recently announced that their vaccines are effective for most people.
Due to lingering suspicions over vaccines, Pakistan is one of just two countries where polio continues to spread, sparking fears that a new drive to inoculate the population against the coronavirus will fail.
The Chinese vaccine is also undergoing phase 3 trials — or large-scale testing on humans — in several other nations including China, Russia, Chile, Argentina and Saudi Arabia.
In a separate development, a government study has estimated that around 15 million individuals have already been exposed to the virus in Pakistan.
The data released by the National Command and operation c en tre(ncoc) disclosed that 10,050 health professionals — 6,285 doctors, 1,189 nurses and 2,566 other staff — have contracted the virus so far. Of them, 98 health professionals have died.
Since many patients are asymptomatic, every individual must wear a face mask, maintain social distancing and take all other precautionary measures, while the relevant authorities need to increase diagnostic vigilance and testing to curb the second wave of COVID-19.
The number of active cases in the country has jumped to 40,379, according to the latest data released by the NCOC. There were 13,068 active cases on Nov.1.
The daily tally of new cases, which had dropped below 300 in September, had multiplied 10 times during the recent weeks to reach close to the 3,000 mark. Earlier, on July 9, 3,000 daily cases were reported from across the country.
Leading the fight against the virus, health professionals have taken the major brunt of the deadly pandemic, as the number of doctors and paramedics having contracted the disease has surpassed 10,000.
Among the 6,285 doctors, 1,940 have been infected in Sindh, 1,600 in Punjab, 1,197 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 6,93 in Islamabad, 490 in Balochistan, 256 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 119 in Gilgit-baltistan.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS), Pakistan has successfully completed a second round of COVID-19 study that shows around seven per cent (15 million) people are exposed to the virus.
Pakistan is among the few countries that have conducted and completed the Sero-prevalence study in big and small cities.