Pakistan's private health facilities run out of COVID-19 vaccines

Amid the devastating third COVID-19 wave in Pakistan, vaccine supplies in private health facilities have run out and the facility chiefs say that they are struggling to obtain more doses from manufacturers in the face of high global demand.

Two privately owned pharmaceutical compes in Pakistan have imported 50,000 doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine and 10,000 doses of the Chinese single-dose Convidecia vaccine. These have been fully used at private hospitals and other medical facilities in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad to inoculate 35,000 people, reported Arab News.

"Our first shipment of 50,000 doses has been fully used, but now we are facing supply issues for further imports from the manufacturer in Russia," said Muhammad Kamran Mirza, a non-executive director of AGP Pharma, adding that the company is "not sure" when it would receive more doses.

"Our imported vaccine has been administered in the hospitals where the vaccine's trials were conducted earlier this year... The COVID-19 vaccine is in high demand in the global market and we are trying to help the government as much as we can (to help fight the virus)," Sultan Khan, a marketing executive with AJM Pharma, told Arab News.

As the third wave of the pandemic sweeps through the country, the demand for vaccines has risen. Sputnik V and Convidecia vaccines have been authorised for emergency use in the country for Rs 8,449 (two doses) and Rs 4,225 (single dose).

The demand has forced people to resort to pc buying of oxygen cylinders across the country.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has indicated that the federal government might impose a complete lockdown in coronavirus-hit cities and stressed the need for a smooth supply of food items during the lockdown, reported Dawn.

Pakistan's total cases of COVID-19 infection have already crossed the 800,000-mark and the death toll from the coronavirus has reached 17,530.

In the last 24 hours, Pakistan reported 201 more COVID deaths, the highest number in a single day since the pandemic broke out in the country last year, ARY News reported.

According to the latest figures issued by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), 5,292 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, pushing the number of positive cases to 810,231. The COVID-19 positivity rate was registered at 10.77 per cent in the same period.

( With inputs from ANI )