‘Private import of corona vaccine ‘a deliberate policy tool’

ISLAMABAD: The government has, as a deliberate policy tool, allowed the private sector to import COVID-19 vaccines to cater to those segments of the society which were not on its immediate priority list.

Secretary Health Aamir Ashraf Khawaja has quoted the above justification in a letter addressed to Transparency International-Pakistan (TIP), which recently expressed reservations regarding procurement of COVID-19 vaccines in the private sector for commercial sale in Pakistan, and called upon Prime Minister Imran Khan to cancel its policy, given that it may open a window of corruption for sale of the government’s vaccine to private hospitals.

The letter, which is addressed to the Vice Chairperson of TIP Justice (R) Nasira Iqbal, points out it was a well-considered decision of the federal government to allow the private sector to import vaccines as the national vaccination priorities favour healthcare workers and the elderly, involving some lag in reaching other segments of the society. “This is expected in a large country like Pakistan with a population of over 220 million. The government, therefore, as a deliberate policy tool, allowed the private sector to import vaccine to cater to those segments of the society which were not on the immediate priority list of the government,” the letter states.

The letter mentions that initially, the government approved such import without fixing the price, as no reference price under the law was available. Later on, a provision of the Drug Pricing Policy for import of drugs under hardship category was applied to COVID-19 vaccine to keep a check on prices instead of leaving them solely to free market dynamics. “The government is fixing the maximum retail price, leaving room for competition and free market dynamics. It may also be added that COVID vaccine market dynamics entail sale in large quantities, typically in millions. The economies of scale available to big players like governments and GAVI are not available to small players. Whatever number of doses they can bring in, however, means potentially saving lives,” the health secretary has pointed out.

The letter emphasizes Pakistan’s commitment to fighting COVID with all resources available at its disposal. “Over the last one year, Pakistan made a huge effort to put together a ‘whole of the government approach’ to make sure that the pandemic is contained, testing is ramped up, healthcare facilities are equipped and ramped up to deal with the rush of COVID patients, and finally, that the general population is vaccinated expeditiously, starting with the most vulnerable,” the letter said.

“The courts have given further strength to the government by endorsing its diverse efforts to fight the pandemic. Pakistan’s efforts in this regard have been acknowledged by the world from time to time. Though the fight is far from over, we remain committed to employ all policy tools at our command to save as many lives as we can,” the letter concludes.