Govt Takes a U-Turn on Prices of Privately Imported Vaccines

The federal government has repealed its decision under which it had allowed the private sector to set the prices of Coronavirus vaccines after importing them.

This development came just hours before the first consignment of privately-imported Russian Coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V, was due to arrive in Pakistan.

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Last night, AGP Limited, a Karachi-based pharmaceutical firm that is the sole distributor of the Russian vaccine in Pakistan, received the first batch of Sputnik V consisting of 50,000 doses at the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi.

While speaking on the occasion, a senior AGP Limited official said that Sputnik V will be made available at all private hospitals and laboratories as soon as the government notifies the official price.

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This year in January, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) had granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to Sputnik V. DRAP’s Registration Board had also declared Sputnik V safe for the elderly population a week ago.

On 10 February, the federal government had allowed the private sector to set the price of the Coronavirus vaccines without any interference from the regulatory authorities. The public had widely criticized the decision, arguing that allowing the private sector to import and fix the prices of COVID-19 vaccines would create inequality.