Chinese vaccine
Pakistan says China's Sinopharm vaccine not recommended for people aged above 60
The Chinese Sinopharm vaccine for Covid-19, which started being administered in Pakistan recently, is not recommended for people aged over 60, a top official said.
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan was quoted as saying by Dawn News that the government's expert committee while considering the preliminary analysis of Sinopharm data had recommended that the vaccine be licensed for people aged 18-60 "at this stage".
"At this stage, the [committee] did not authorise the vaccine for people older than 60," he added.
When contacted by Dawn News about which vaccine would be used for people over 60 instead of Sinopharm's, Dr Sultan said the AstraZeneca vaccine would be used.
"When our Pakistani experts looked at the data, they were reasonably satisfied with the AstraZeneca data but felt that [based] on the presently available numbers for Sinopharm, the data did not justify its usage for those aged over 60," he said.
"The Chinese have also reiterated this restriction," he added.
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