Pakistan

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

Published

1 year 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

Pilgrims, good news! Applications for the Hajj are reopening.

Published

15 hours ago

Farwa

On Thursday, the Ministry of Religious Affairs declared that applications for the government Hajj program’s remaining quota will once again be accepted.

The ministry made this choice in an effort to guarantee that the entire quota is used and to prevent sending any seats back to Saudi Arabia that are not used.

On a first-come, first-served basis, an extra 5,000 pilgrims will be allowed to apply starting next week.

These applications will be accepted during a designated timeframe; the ministry is now considering a proposal to restrict the submission period to five days.

Under the Hajj program, the government had previously received 81,500 applications; the decision to accept additional pilgrims is intended to provide those who were unable to reserve a seat in the first round of applications a chance.

To further streamline the procedure and guarantee efficiency and justice, no lottery will be held for the new applications, in contrast to the previous one.

Officials stressed that this action is meant to guarantee that no chance to bring pilgrims to the Holy Land is missed, in addition to optimizing the quota distribution.

Business

FBR begins working on the fiscal year 2025–2026 budget.

Published

15 hours ago

Farwa

The budget for the next fiscal year 2025–2026 is being prepared by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and stakeholders are being requested to submit their ideas by January 31.

All pertinent parties have received a formal letter from the FBR asking for their comments on the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

Income tax, sales tax, federal excise duty, and revenue-raising ideas are among the particular proposals that stakeholders are asked to submit. The board is also seeking suggestions for expanding the scope of current taxes and widening the tax base.

Along with proposals pertaining to taxes, the FBR has requested feedback on general sales tax for all companies as well as ideas for phasing away tax exemptions gradually. The FBR has underlined how important it is to simplify tax processes and make rules more understandable for taxpayers.

The American Business Council of Pakistan, DHA Karachi, the Pakistan Small Chambers of Commerce and Cottage Industry, the Pakistan Business Council, the Pakistan Stock Exchange, and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) are among the business and trade associations that have been contacted for their suggestions.

In addition, the FBR has requested ideas from a wide range of organizations, such as the Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association, the All Pakistan United Retailers Association Karachi, the All Pakistan Bar Association, ICAP, the Pakistan Tax Bar Association, and tax advisory businesses.

Based on these stakeholders’ comments and ideas, the FBR will finalize its recommendations for the next finance bill.

Latest News

Pakistanis travel to India to attend Hazrat Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti Urs.

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

In Ajmer Sharif, a group of pilgrims from Pakistan laid a traditional chaddar before the shrine of Hazrat Khawaja Syed Moinuddin Hasan Chishti.

Today, the traditional Chaddar was deposited at the Shrine of Hazrat Khwaja Syed Moinuddin Hasan Chishti (RA) in Ajmer Sharif by Pakistani Zaireen, accompanied by Mr. Tariq Masroof, Second Secretary, Pakistan High Commission, New Delhi.

A group of 89 Pakistani Zaireen are in Ajmeer Sharif from January 7–9, 2025, to help celebrate Hazrat Khwaja Syed Moinuddin Hasan Chishti’s (RA) 813th annual Urs Mubarak.

Following the traditional chaddar’s placement on behalf of the Pakistani people and government, the delegation prayed for Pakistan’s development and well-being.

The delegation was greeted by notable members of the Anjuman Moinia Fakhria Chishtia Khuddam Khwaja Sahib upon their arrival at the Dargah.

The annual Urs Mubarak of Hazrat Khwaja Syed Moinuddin Hasan Chishti (RA) is attended by Pakistani Zaireen in accordance with the 1974 India-Pakistan protocol for religious shrine visits.