Pakistan is set to start the local production of CanSinoBIO’s COVID-19 vaccine from next month, senior officials at the National Institute of Health (NIH) have confirmed.
According to details, while the NIH has made all the necessary arrangements to commence the domestic manufacturing of the vaccine, the raw material for the production of CanSinoBIO’s vaccine will reach Pakistan in early May.
ALSO READ
A-Level Question Paper Leaked in Anti-Exam Conspiracy
Chinese healthcare experts are currently in Pakistan as well to assist NIH researchers in manufacturing the CanSinoBIO’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine.
Known as Ad5-nCoV, CanSinoBIO developed the Coronavirus vaccine in collaboration with the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology and tested it in large-scale phase-III clinical trials that were held in five countries, including Pakistan, in which more than 40,000 volunteers participated.
Results of trials were published in February this year which confirmed that the CanSinoBIO vaccine was 65% effective at preventing symptomatic cases and 91% effective at preventing severe infection.
As for the Pakistani subset, the vaccine offered 75% protection against symptomatic cases and 100% protection against severe infection.
ALSO READ
Pakistan Seeks Korea’s Help in Smartphones Manufacturing
No serious safety concerns and side-effects of the CanSinoBIO vaccine were reported during the multination clinical trials as well.
Earlier this year in February, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) had granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to CanSinoBIO’s COVID-19 vaccine.
