KARACHI: The 50,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccine for the Covid-19, which was commercially available in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad have been ‘consumed’ and soon the 10,000 doses of single dose Convidecia will also run out. Both the vaccines need to be imported more against the backdrop of alarming number of coronavirus cases, but there is no time frame as to when they would be available to those interested in privately acquiring them.
“Sputnik V vaccine is no more available in Pakistan as all its doses imported by us and supplied to major health facilities and institutions have been consumed. There may be some who would be waiting for their second dose but it is not available at the private vaccination centers anymore”, the AGP Pharma official told The News on Monday. When asked when they would be importing the next shipment, he said they could not comment about the timing of the arrival of the next consignment. The double-dose Sputnik V vaccine was being offered at Rs12,268 for the two doses at major health facilities in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.
On the other hand, 10,000 doses of single-dose Chinese vaccine Convidecia by the CanSino Biologics Inc, which were commercially imported by AJM Pharma Ltd, have been supplied to three major hospitals in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and would remain commercially available for a few more days, an AJM Pharma Ltd official told The News. “We have supplied all the 10,000 doses of CanSino Biologics Convidecia vaccine to the health facilities. I think, it is privately available at the Shifa International Hospital Islamabad while in a few days, it would be available at Shaukat Khanum Hospital, Lahore and Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi”, he added.
He said they had provided the single-dose Chinese vaccine to hospitals where its phase-III clinical trials were conducted and added that as the vaccine was imported in limited quantity, it would be consumed within days. “The Convidecia vaccine would be supplied to more vaccination centers and facilities once we manage to get it imported in large quantities but that is not possible before Eid-ul-Fitr as there is an extreme shortage of Covid-19 vaccines around the globe,” the AJM official added.
On the other hand, Medical Director of Shifa International Hospital Dr. Zeeshan Bin Ishtiaque confirmed that they had started inoculations with Convidecia, whose maximum retail price was Rs4,250.
“We had received 1,000 doses of Chinese vaccine and now we have received another 1,000 doses of the vaccine. It is being used to inoculate people privately in Islamabad,” Dr. Zeeshan added.