Chinese vaccine by year-end
Head of the Chinese state-owned enterprise Sinopharm stated that the vaccine candidate being developed by the pharma may be ready by the end of the year. Expected to cost $140, the vaccine will be administered in two doses, 28 days apart.
Clinical trials of the potential vaccine will be carried out in Pakistan in collaboration with the University of Karachi, allowing the country to procure the vaccine, if it is successful, on a high-priority basis.
11% Pakistanis immune to COVID-19
The report titled National Seroprevalence Study, conducted by the Health Services Academy and the Agha Khan University, with technical input from the WHO, finds that 11% of Pakistanis across 25 urban centres have developed protective immunity against the novel coronavirus disease. The findings are part of the WHO’s Unity Study being carried out simultaneously in 25 other countries.
The study further observed that seropositivity was more prevalent in urban areas than in rural regions. Residents in urban centres and middle-aged Pakistanis were more likely to develop COVID-19 antibodies, while residents in rural areas and the elderly were most at risk of a possible second wave.
Country roundup
321 fresh cases and 7 fatalities were reported in Sindh in the past 24 hours, taking the provincial death toll to 2,350 and total cases to 127,381. Meanwhile Islamabad recorded 13 infections, while Rawalpindi reported 3 in the same timeframe. No new virus-related deaths were reported in the twin cities.