As the second wave of COVID-19 progressed, the virus has evolved into a genetically new and highly transmissible strain called the UK strain. This strain was reported to be more deadly and contagious than before. About 92 countries including Pakistan, were affected by it. When the UK strain showed itself in Pakistan, the government declared the country was facing the third wave of COVID -19, which was far more intensive than the first two waves. As the number of cases and deaths increased drastically, the government imposed smart lockdowns in significant cities together with a ban on all kinds of public gatherings.
Amid the struggle to control the virus’s spread, Pakistan started its massive vaccination campaign like so many other countries. The campaign’s initial start was in early February when Pakistan received its first batch of 500,000 doses of the COVID-19’s Sinopharm vaccine from China. Various vaccination centres were set up across the country with frontline health workers and those over the age of 60 to be the first to get the shots. These vaccines were said to be 79% effective and were administered to citizens free of charge. To speed up the vaccination process, Pakistan secured another deal with the Chinese government by purchasing 60,000 doses of the 75% effective CanSino Vaccine and expects an additional 500,000 amount of Sinopharm.
FM Qureshi thanks China for the first COVID-19 vaccine batch. Image: Tribune.pk
The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan has approved four vaccines in the country, namely China’s Sinopharm and CanSino and two others, including Russia’s Sputnik V and Oxford University’s AstraZeneca. Fifty thousand doses of the former vaccine were bought by the Sindh government in March, with 150,000 more to come. Pakistan has yet to receive 17 million doses of AstraZeneca by the end of June from WHO. The government hopes to vaccinate about 70% of the population using these four vaccines by the end of 2021. But, to make this happen, the government will have to go a long way.
Unfortunately, the vaccination drive in Pakistan is hampered by a lot of challenges and difficulties from all sides. When the campaign started in February to vaccinate frontline workers, it faced a major hurdle due to vaccine skepticism. Many were reluctant to get the shots and labelled the vaccine as dangerous with disturbing side effects. Apart from health workers, the turnout of older adults getting the vaccine in Pakistan has been lower than that of Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Reports state that most people are very hesitant in getting the vaccine due to several reasons.
A health worker prepares a dose of Sinopharm’s Covid vaccine in Karachi. China has donated 500,000 doses to Pakistan. Photograph: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters
Firstly, Pakistan has always been a country full of myths and doubts. And if someone thought a global, deadly pandemic was going to shorten the odds for Pakistanis, they were very wrong. Pakistanis remain skeptical and unsure about the validity of the pandemic and the vaccines. Many still believe that the whole pandemic is a hoax, and no such thing as the coronavirus exists. When it comes to vaccines, most of the population is concerned about the side effects of the vaccines. Even though the government has declared the possible side effects as mild and unharmful, the concerns persist. Apart from this, there are religious reservations about the vaccine. Some Pakistanis say the vaccine is haram (forbidden in Islam) because it contains animal gelatin. Others are unsure about taking the Sinopharm because it is made in China, while there is strong reservation against AstraZeneca as it was manufactured in India.
These rumors are circulated swiftly on social media and have heavily influenced the country. This has resulted in many people unwilling to get the vaccine jabs. Many doctors and health experts urge the government to counter misinformation and raise awareness in the country on the importance of getting inoculated. The efforts of educating people on coronavirus’ vaccines seem fruitless to some extent, but nothing can be predicted as of now.
Apart from these problems, Pakistan is among the few countries permitted to privatize vaccine administration and sales. The Sputnik V that arrived in Sindh has been approved for private sales by the government. This decision has faced criticism as the vaccine will only be available in major hospitals for people who can afford it. While private companies can’t sell it until the government fixes a price, Sputnik V has been imported from Pakistan without price caps. Most Pakistanis believe that it is an attempt to undermine the governmental system as most countries buy and sell vaccines through proper channels rather than private companies.
At the same time, another pharmaceutical company has signed a deal with a Chinese corporation to supply and produce an upcoming COVID-19 vaccine in Sindh. The vaccine, namely the V-01 vaccine, has shown promising results, and the company is set to manufacture it in Pakistan. An official from the company said that the vaccine would be “first of its kind if any pharmaceutical companies bring production authority of any approved vaccine.” This news comes as a slight relief to some Pakistanis as V-01 would be the first Pakistani-manufactured vaccine rather than being one of foreign extraction. Parallel to this relief, some groups trust this vaccine even less than they trust Indian-manufactured AstraZeneca.
To end the vaccine debate, the government of Pakistan needs to educate masses of people on the dire need of a vaccine and hurry up their vaccine administration process. According to a report, Pakistan is administering less than one vaccine dose per 100 people. With the government relaxing many earlier restrictions on social distancing, including reopening educational institutions, Pakistan cannot afford to be inactive on this score.
