PMA on vaccine: Call to take medics body on board to buy corona vaccine

LAHORE: Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has demanded the government take the medical fraternity’s representative body on board with regard to its plan to procure COVID-19 vaccines and their efficacy.

According to information Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has approved AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine which is being manufactured by India. Pakistan will acquire this vaccine through COVAX which is a global Alliance for vaccine support; the alliance includes Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and World Health Organization. COVAX has promised to provide free vaccine for 20pc of the population of around 190 countries, including Pakistan.

PMA (Centre) Secretary General Dr S.M. Qaisar Sajjad said that the PMA wants to know the dosage of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. “Will it be administered once in life, once a year or more? Who will be the beneficiary of this free vaccine?” he questioned.

PMA and other stakeholders should be taken on board by the government. Healthcare workers both from public and private sector should be administered vaccine on priority basis. Up till now 175 doctors and 30 paramedics have lost their lives due to COVID-19.

All these doctors were affected while examining their patients because they did not know the patient they were examining was COVID positive or not. Unfortunately when a doctor gets positive even he does not know where to go for treatment. No beds are reserved for doctors in any Corona-designated hospital. There is no policy for taking care of healthcare workers who are called frontline soldiers of war against coronavirus.

So many countries of the world have started vaccinating their people. Even India has started world’s largest Coronavirus vaccination drive under which more than 300 million people will be vaccinated, on the other hand Pakistan might get the first consignment of the free vaccine from COVAX in the second quarter of 2021.

Unfortunately we do not see any such planning for vaccinating people at the government’s end. This planning should be initiated urgently, first phase of the vaccination drive should be chalked out, lists of medics and paramedics should also be prepared for vaccination.

How the cold chain of the vaccination will be maintained. Public awareness campaign for this vaccine should also be launched through media to prepare people to get vaccinated. The PMA, therefore, demanded that the government should expedite the process of acquiring vaccine for COVID-19. The people above the age of sixty suffering from diabetes, hypertension and cancer or any other uncompromised diseases/drugs should also be vaccinated on priority basis.

The PMA said that people above seventy with no diseases should also be vaccinated on priority basis. The government must provide vaccine to the whole population in the country free of cost.