ISLAMABAD: The physician heading a Phase III clinical trial in Pakistan for a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine candidate has urged people to volunteer for the trial, overcoming the resistance in the country to immunisation programmes.
Pakistan launched the trial last week for Ad5-nCoV, a vaccine candidate co-developed by CanSino Biologics and a Chinese military-backed research unit.
It is the first-ever large scale trial in Pakistan, which has grappled with disinformation around other long-established vaccines, and attacks on health workers administering them.
Efforts to eradicate polio, for instance, have for years been undermined by opposition from some Islamists, who say immunisation is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies.
“There are lots of challenges whenever you introduce something new and a vaccine is part of it. Vaccine hesitancy, unfortunately, with a country like Pakistan is also pretty much high,” Ejaz A. Khan, who is heading the trial at Islamabad's Shifa International Hospital, told Reuters on Tuesday.
"People should come and volunteer, people should not be hesitant. They can take part and become part of the team which is fighting COVID-19."
Khan, who has taken part in immunisation drives for three decades in Pakistan, said even existing vaccines had side effects, and hoped Ad5-nCoV would not fall prey to this discussion.
Shifa International, the first of five trial sites in Pakistan, has repurposed a building previously used for COVID-19 testing for the trial, which it hopes will have 2,000 participants.
Volunteers arrive by appointment, and are recruited through NGOs, hospitals, and corporations.
Volunteers must be over 18, not have tested positive for COVID-19, not have immune deficiencies, and not be pregnant for the duration of the trial. A one-time 2,000 Pakistani rupees ($12) compensation for travel and food expenses is provided, Khan said.
The trial's end point, Khan said, is flexible, but one goal is to show the vaccine is 50% more effective than a placebo.
Once proven, Khan said it was expected Pakistan would be provided with several million doses on a priority basis by CanSinoBio.
Pakistan’s National Institute of Health, which is overseeing the trial, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Pakistan reported 541 new cases on Tuesday - taking the total to 312,263 with 6,479 deaths.
Pakistani doctor urges people to volunteer for COVID-19 vaccine trial
https://arab.news/bnebb
Pakistani doctor urges people to volunteer for COVID-19 vaccine trial
- Volunteers must be over 18, not have tested positive for COVID-19
- The trial's end point, is flexible, but one goal is to show the vaccine is 50% more effective than a placebo, says doctor Ejaz Khan
Thousands rally in Karachi after deadly mall fire, demand resignations and reforms
- Protesters cite fire that killed at least 67, blame civic failures, weak emergency response
- Rally adds pressure on Sindh’s ruling party amid anger over infrastructure and utilities
KARACHI: Thousands rallied in Karachi on Sunday demanding the resignations of local officials and systemic reforms following a devastating shopping mall fire that killed dozens last month.
The demonstration underscored deepening public anger over civic failures in Pakistan’s largest city.
Approximately 4,000 people marched under the slogan “Enough is enough” in a rally organized by the political Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).
Demonstrators cited chronic water and power shortages, poor emergency services, and crumbling infrastructure as key grievances.
The blaze at the Gul Plaza Shopping Mall in January, which left at least 67 dead and over 15 missing, has intensified scrutiny of the city’s disaster preparedness and governance.
The protest’s main speaker, Jamaat e Islami’s Karachi chief Munim Zafar, demanded immediate compensation for the victims’ families and affected businesses. He also accused the city’s administration of failing to provide basic utilities and competent emergency services.
“Our demand is clear: compensation for the families of those who died in the Gul Plaza incident, and compensation for the traders who suffered losses. They should be given alternative support to help them rebuild their businesses,” Zafar said.
He said Karachi’s residents were being denied basic services and protection, calling for the resignations of senior city and provincial officials:
“The people of Karachi deserve to live with dignity, but you’re not providing them with basic necessities like water and electricity. When there’s a fire, you’re incapable of rescue, and when it rains, the city is flooded. Our infrastructure is in shambles ... Karachi needs an empowered local government system.”
The protest increases political pressure on the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which governs Sindh province and Karachi.
City and provincial authorities have previously pointed to rapid urbanization and funding limits when addressing infrastructure issues.
The offices of Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab and the Sindh government did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment on demonstrators’ requests.
