KARACHI: Federal government is likely to announce the prices of single-dose Chinese vaccine Cansino and Russian vaccine Sputnik V for COVID-19 ‘in a day or two’ after the drug pricing committee of Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) recommended the prices of both the vaccines to the federal cabinet, officials said on Friday.
“The Drug Pricing Committee (of DRAP) has recommended a number to the cabinet”, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr. Faisal Sultan told The News on Friday when asked what would be the prices of Russian vaccine Sputnik V and single-dose Chinese vaccine Cansino in Pakistan for the common people.
A private pharmaceutical firm AGP Limited imported 50,000 doses of Russian Sputnik V vaccine in Pakistan on Wednesday last while government of Pakistan has placed the order for the purchase of 60,000 doses of single-dose Chinese vaccine Ad5-nCoV vaccine (Cansino Bio) for Covid-19, which is due in the next week.
An official of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) told The News that the drug pricing committee of the dug regulator analyzed the landing prices of both the Russian and Chinese vaccines and recommended their prices to the cabinet, adding that now the government is likely to announce the prices within a couple of days. “Most probably (recommended prices) will be approved by circulation due to urgency”, an official of the National Health Services said when asked if the cabinet would discuss the recommended prices in its meeting, which usually takes place on every Tuesday in Islamabad.
The official maintained that the Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr. Faisal Sultan would circulate the recommended prices to the cabinet members and on their recommendations and approval from the Prime Minister Imran Khan, these prices are likely to be notified within next 24 to 48 hours. Officials said fixing the prices of COVID-19 vaccines was a tricky business for the federal government as it could result in strong criticism from the opposition, civil society and people if the prices are very high and unaffordable for most of the people as nowhere in the world, COVID-19 vaccine is being administered commercially.
They said many people wanted to get COVID-19 jabs in the private sector as currently only elderly and healthcare workers were being inoculated in Pakistan but added that if vaccine prices would be too high, majority of people in Pakistan would be unable to afford them and could result in serious criticism and unrest for the government, which always remain under criticism for enhancing medicine prices.
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