KARACHI: Renowned scientist and Chairman of Prime Minister’s Taskforce on Science and Technology, Dr Attaur Rahman, has said that Pfizer coronavirus vaccine is not suitable for Pakistan due to various reasons.
Talking to a private television channel on Tuesday regarding the Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, Dr Atta said that it is too early to celebrate the success despite the manufacturer claiming that it is more than 90 per cent effective.
“The first problem is that the US drug regulatory authority has not given the approval, which will take two months,” opined Dr Rehman. He added that the regulatory bodies will have to see the results first then allow the company to move on to the next stage of the vaccine finalisation process.
The other problem that the scientist highlighted was that the vaccine needs to be kept at a temperature of -80 °C, which in his view was a major problem for third world countries, including Pakistan.
The former HEC chairman said that the third world countries, including Pakistan, do not have the “cold chain” that will allow them to transport the vaccine in required temperatures from the point of origin to the hospitals.
“The third biggest problem is that you do not know for how many days it is effective,” said Dr Rehman. He explained that right now there was no “evidence or any result” that has been seen by Pfizer and BioNTech to determine its effectiveness.
“In the beginning, it is effective but [you don’t know] for how many months the antibodies remain in your body,” said Dr Rehman.
The other two problems shared by Dr Rehman were of large-scale production, wherein he feels it would take a year for the vaccine to pass all the steps required. The last problem he shared was the price of the vaccine.
He said that the coronavirus vaccine developed by a Chinese pharmaceutical firm is better suited for Pakistan and other developed countries.
“Pakistan is conducting trials of two Chinese vaccines which are also showing positive results,” he said. “One Chinese vaccine, by Sinopharm, is in phase 3 clinical trials and has shown good results in multiple countries but they have not highlighted it like Pfizer and are working quietly”.
He added that the trial of the vaccine is being administered in Karachi University’s International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences and Indus Hospital.
The task force chairman also said that the company has committed to giving the vaccine to Pakistan at “reasonable rates”. He shared that another Chinese vaccine’s phase 3 clinical trial is being administered at the National Institute of Health.
Dr Rehman said that Chinese vaccines can also be transported in normal temperatures and do not have to be kept at -80°C degrees which he believes makes it better “suited for Pakistan and third world countries”.
“There are 12 companies whose vaccines are in phase 3 of clinical trials and Pfizer was one of them. And Chinese companies are ahead,” said Dr Rehman.
