ISLAMABAD: Minister for planning Asad Umar said on Tuesday Pakistan had started the Phase 3 clinical trial for a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by China’s CanSino Biologics.

Last month, Pakistan’s drug regulatory authority greenlit the trail, which is being led by the government-run National Institute of Health (NIH) along with pharmaceutical company AJM, the local representative of CanSino.

China has already approved the vaccine for use by its military after early and mid-stage trials.

“Just launched the phase 3 trials for a Covid19 vaccine in Pakistan,” Umar wrote on Twitter. “A total of 40,000 people will participate in this trial in 7 countries, of which 8 to 10, 000 will be Pakistani. Initial results expected in 4 to 6 months.”

Pakistan has seen a steady decline in COVID-19 cases in recent months, reporting only four deaths in the past 24 hours and 582 new infections.