Residents of Pakistan on Sunday began receiving vaccinations with the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine.
The Nation newspaper reported Monday that this Russian COVID-19 drug, along with some other vaccines, has entered commercial circulation. The cost of two doses of Sputnik V is 12,000 rupees ($80).
"In the Pakistani Karachi, long lines formed for the Russian vaccine, sometimes lasting at least three hours. At one of the city's hospitals, <...> the vaccine was fully booked two days in advance by those who wanted to be vaccinated as soon as possible. Among the buyers of the vaccine are, in particular, the largest banks, eager to vaccinate their staff as quickly as possible," the newspaper reports.
In Pakistan, the free coronavirus vaccine is currently available to health workers and people over the age of 50. To speed up vaccinations, authorities in March allowed private companies to import Sputnik V and sell it to vaccination centers at set prices.
Although Pakistani authorities initially agreed to exempt imported vaccines from price controls, they later reversed that decision and said they would set maximum prices for them.
Asad Umar, head of the National Command and Operations Center for COVID-19, said Monday that 4,323 new cases of the coronavirus have been reported in Pakistan in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of infected to 692,231. The number of patients in intensive care has reached 3,568, the highest number since the pandemic began. Forty-three infected people died in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 14,778. During the pandemic, 615,960 people recovered.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS