A couple of months ago, Pakistan allowed the private sector to sell Covid-19 vaccines. The government set the price of two doses at close to Rs12,300. In the neighbouring India, the same vaccine is available for less than $10 per dose. At present, a single oxygen cylinder is being sold at Rs16,000 in different parts of the country.
The government is responsible for keeping the prices of essential items including vaccine doses and oxygen cylinders under control. The only reason why people are waiting for the private sector to import the second batch of the vaccine is that the government has been too slow with its vaccination process. Will the government take measures to speed up its vaccination programme and to bring down the prices of oxygen cylinders?
Amjed Jaaved
Rawalpindi