Pakistani pharmaceutical firms stop importing COVID-19 vaccines, say no longer ‘viable’ business

Workers off load boxes of COVID-19 vaccine from Pakistan International Airlines' (PIA) aircraft in Islamabad, Pakistan, on May 9, 2021. (Photo courtesy: PIA/File)

• Local production of vaccines and government speeding up its procurement process diminished need for private imports
• Vaccines privately imported by AGP and AJM Pharma were used at public and private medical facilities earlier this year

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani private pharmaceutical firms have halted efforts to import coronavirus vaccines for commercial use, officials at two major companies said on Monday, as the government has started locally producing jabs and expedited its vaccine procurement drive.
The government allowed private sector firms to import vaccines in December 2020, opening the possibility that people who could afford it would be able to buy the vaccine before a government rollout, which officially begin in February, prioritizing the elderly and health care workers.
After getting government permission, two privately owned pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan, AGP and AJM Pharma, had imported 50,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine and 10,000 of the single-dose Chinese Convidecia vaccine, respectively. All jabs were used at private hospitals and other medical facilities in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. 
“We are not bringing any new vaccine shipment as this is no longer viable for business,” Umair Mukhtar, the communications head at AGP Pharma, told Arab News. 
He said the scope for privately procured vaccines was limited after a massive rollout by the government and the rapid lowering of the age limit for vaccine eligibility.
“After the use of our first batch, we tried to book more vaccines, but it couldn’t materialize due to some supply issues,” Mukhtar said. 
AGP Pharma had sold the vaccine to private hospitals that administered two doses per individual for over Rs12,000. 
Amitab Suresh, an official at AJM Pharma, said the company sold its initial shipment to the government to use at public hospitals: “Later, the government started producing it locally. Therefore, we aren’t importing the vaccine anymore.” 
The commercial use of vaccines triggered a debate about social divide and privilege in the country while public health experts warned that allowing the commercial sale of vaccines would open the door to fraud and fake jabs.
The government later picked up its procurement of vaccines from multiple sources, including purchases from Chinese companies like SinoVac, SinoPharm and CanSino Bio. It has also received millions of doses through COVAX – a global initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, especially for developing countries like Pakistan. 
More than 61.8 million people, out of Pakistan’s 125.85 million eligible population aged above 18, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine since February, according to official figures. On Monday, fully vaccinated people constituted around 16 percent of the target population. 
All provinces across the country have ramped up efforts to boost their daily vaccination rate by launching door-to-door campaigns and restricting unvaccinated people from using public transport, buying fuel at petrol stations and availing other essential services.