Tag: SARS-CoV-2

The tried and true smart lockdown policy might not work for the recent COVID-19 wave in which the UK variant, a far more transmissible mutation of the original virus, is wreaking havoc in Pakistan.

CanSinoBIO Phase III clinical trials in Pakistan record an efficacy of 74.8% in protecting against COVID-19 symptoms and 100% protection against developing severe complications. WHO, DRAP and EPI conduct workshop on monitoring 'adverse events' following COVID-19 immunization. Sindh to purchase 20 million vaccine doses from China.

Just 34 registered frontline healthcare workers in the Islamabad have been administered China;s Sinopharm vaccine in the past week as most medics have opted to wait to ascertain health outcomes of the drug. A study found that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine provided 'minimal protection' against the South African COVID-19 variant which affects about 90% percent of South Africans.

Prof. Dr. Rana Imran Sikander of PIMS becomes first healthcare worker to receive shot of Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine as vaccination drive officially launches on Wednesday. February 1 becomes deadliest day for Punjab since beginning of 2021 with 46 succumbing to the novel coronavirus disease. International medical journal confirms 92% efficacy for Russia's Sputnik V.

Pakistan will begin vaccinating registered frontline healthcare workers in the next few days following the arrival of half-a-million Sinopharm vaccine vials on Monday. Sindh is set to receive 83,000 doses of the COVID-19 drug while it has registered some 170,000 healthcare workers for inoculation. A team from NCOC surveying nine vaccination centers set up in Karachi expressed its satisfaction of the facilities.

COVAX confirms 17 million Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine doses for Pakistan in the first half of 2021, while 500,000 vials of Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine arrive in the country as a goodwill gesture from China. Islamabad sets up nine vaccination centers for the inoculation of some 17,000 registered frontline healthcare workers. Punjab issues new SOP as on-campus classes for primary, middle and university students resume today.

Research for CanSinoBIO vaccine has now entered the follow-up stage for which it has entered an agreement with the PITB to keep in contact with 18,000 volunteers. Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar approves Rs. 50 million to purchase gene-sequencing technology. Punjab Health Minister Yasmin Rashid announces that Punjab has completed its COVAX trials.

Gallup Pakistan survey involving 1,000 participants found that 49% of respondents preferred not to get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus disease. Federal Minister for Planning and NCOC head Asad Umar on Wednesday stated that Pakistan would begin vaccinating its frontline healthcare workers from next week. SAPM on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan stated that government-backed vaccines would be free for citizens.

Sindh establishes 14 vaccination facilities, 9 of which have been set up in Karachi, ahead of the first shipment of Sinopharm vaccine expected to arrive by the end of February. Eight teachers in various schools in Lahore, and 21 students and three teachers in schools in Faisalabad were found positive for COVID-19 via randomized testing. The Punjab government has sent examples of five returnees from the UK to the NIH to determine the presence of the B.1.1.7 virus variant

DRAP approves Russia's Sputnik-V for emergency use, meanwhile provinces inform NCOC that staff at teaching hospitals, and district and tehsil headquarters hospitals are nearing completion of their COVID-19 vaccination training. Researchers at the Montreal Heart institute find that colchicine helps significantly reduce the risk of developing complications and dying from COVID-19. Moderna finds its vaccine can protect against the UK and South African coronavirus variants