Pakistan

Pakistan likely to get updated Pfizer COVID shots as new variant spreads

Published

7 months ago

Farwa

COVID-19 jabs would be used to vaccinate high-risk groups.
New formula effective against currently circulating variants.
“We believe Saudi authorities will require vaccination,” says official.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is likely to receive 500,000 doses of Pfizer’s new COVID-19 vaccine (2023-24 formula) in January 2024 amid a global surge in cases as the new JN.1 variant spreads around the world, The News reported on Monday.

The COVID-19 jabs would be used to vaccinate high-risk groups, including pilgrims before embarking on the Hajj pilgrimage, officials said on Sunday.

But before vaccinating people with the newly-developed vaccine in Pakistan, the authorities need to get a fresh Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) from the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) as the newly-developed vaccine by Pfizer has not been approved or licensed by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but has only been authorised for emergency use by them, they added.

“We are going to get 200,000 doses of Pfizer’s new COVID-19 vaccine (2023-24 formula) from the US in the next few days. This new formula is effective against the currently circulating variants including Omicron and its sub-variants. In addition, we would get 300,000 more doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine from COVAX, an international initiative to provide Covid vaccines to people around the world,” an official of the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad told The News.

The number of new COVID-19 cases increased by 52% during the 28-day period from November 20 to December 17, 2023 as compared to the previous 28-day period, with over 850,000 new cases reported during that time, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported last week after it declared JN.1 sub-variant of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 as Variant of Interest (VOI).

However, the officials in the NIH Islamabad and provincial health facilities in Lahore and Karachi said they had not yet detected JN.1 sub-variant in Pakistan as COVID-19 positivity was quite low and less than 1% but added that in order to prevent pilgrims from contracting the new COVID-19 variants, they needed the new vaccine.

“We believe that Saudi authorities will require vaccination against COVID-19 with new mRNA vaccine developed by Pfizer or other companies authorised by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before allowing pilgrims to enter their territory for Haj,” the NIH official added.

He maintained that all the previous vaccines, including Pfizer or Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac, will either be consumed or expired by November 2023 and added that at the moment, Pakistan has no stock of any COVID-19 vaccine.

On the other hand, Pakistani authorities will have to acquire ‘Emergency Use Authorisation’ for Pfizer’s newly-developed Covid-19 vaccine from the Drap as Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine (2023-2024 Formula) has not been approved or licensed by the FDA, another health official said.

According to Pfizer, its Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine (2023-2024 Formula) has been authorised for emergency use by the FDA under an Emergency Use Authorisation to prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for use in individuals aged between six months to 11 years of age.

“Drap accepts FDA’s EUA as such, so no problem in term of its use in Pakistan. Drap will just require a formal request for it along with the FDA certification,” the official said, adding that either the NIH or Federal Directorate of Immunisation (FDI) or in the case of Pfizer, their local representative or authorised supplier could submit a formal request for the Emergency Use Authorisation for the vaccine.

Regarding its use for children aged between six months to 11 years, the official claimed that a vaccine suitable for this age would work for adults as well. Meanwhile, ages below 12 years are considered sensitive as their immune system is still evolving, he added.

Latest News

Rainfall throughout the night stops flights in Lahore.

Published

18 hours ago

Farwa

Allama Iqbal International Airport experienced many hours of flight disruption due to the intense rainfall and windstorms that occurred overnight in Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab.

Aviation sources claim that because of the monsoon weather, the flight operation was unable to operate between 3 and 4 am.

It is possible that the planes will arrive at the airport at 4 am.

Amidst delays in foreign airline flights, three aircraft made landings in Multan and Peshawar.

Riyadh flights arrived in Peshawar Airport, while flights scheduled to land in Lahore in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain ended up landing in Multan Airport.

Seven hours later than scheduled, the Qatar Airways flight from Doha arrived in Lahore.

Because of the bad weather, there are delays in the arrival and departure of numerous international planes.

Latest News

Changes to Pakistan’s Test team could be significant for the Bangladesh series.

Published

18 hours ago

Farwa

Major changes to Pakistan’s team are anticipated ahead of the forthcoming Test series against Bangladesh, sources in Lahore have revealed.

As the team gets ready for the series, meetings with the players are planned for next week.

It is predicted that the Test squad would undergo several changes. The team’s lineup is expected to be strengthened by the likely inclusion of Muhammad Huraira. Key players like Faheem Ashraf, Wasim Jr., Saim Ayub, and Nauman Ali, whose contributions are vital to the team’s success, struggle to get a spot on the squad.

Furthermore, according to sources, Imamul Haq or Sahibzada Farhan are anticipated to be added to the team, subject to additional assessment. Furthermore, following a fitness assessment, Amir Jamal and Hasan Ali’s futures will be determined.

The ultimate selection for the Test team will take place following Red Ball head coach Jason Gillespie’s return to Pakistan. The ultimate squad that will play Bangladesh in the forthcoming Test series will be greatly influenced by his assessments and thoughts.

Pakistan is scheduled to visit New Zealand in March and April of 2025, according to the country’s official cricket schedule, which was released earlier this month.

Throughout their visit, the Pakistan cricket team will play three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and five Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) in an exciting series.

The T20I series, which starts at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on March 16, will serve as the tour’s opening event.

Latest News

PM Meets With KP Lawmakers: Promises Progression and Relief Efforts in Province

Published

18 hours ago

Farwa

Khyber Pakhtunkhawa lawmakers are given assurances by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif regarding the province’s development, namely in the amalgamated districts, with a particular emphasis on the provision of standard health and educational facilities.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa National and Provincial Assembly members paid a visit to Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif at PM House.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister stated that the PML-N Government has always given priority to the development of the combined districts.

The prime minister promised that the combined Districts would have standard health and educational facilities, and that Danish Schools would be established nearby to offer local pupils an education of the highest caliber possible.

The PM also underlined the importance of promoting solar energy, combating electricity theft, and helping the middle class and impoverished.

He said that in order to boost the agriculture sector’s growth, expand the amount of land under cultivation, and reduce the nation’s reliance on foreign fuel imports, the government was converting agricultural tubewells to solar energy nationwide.

According to PM Shehbaz Sharif, the government recently provided significant reduction from electricity rates for those with low and moderate incomes.

At the event, he also announced the creation of a committee headed by the deputy prime minister, whose goal will be to identify long-term solutions to the issues facing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s elected officials.

He argued that in order to preserve the nation from going into default, the current government had to make difficult political choices in order to revitalize the economy.

The parliamentarians gave Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif high marks for his visionary leadership in transforming Pakistan’s economy.