Minister Umar appreciates Chinese aid in help against pandemic

Pakistan has recently recovered from a serious third wave of infections and eased anti-epidemic restrictions nationwide after the COVID-19 positivity rate fell below 3 percent. Experts believe speeding up vaccine rollout and making sure people comply with health guidelines have helped the government succeed in curbing the spread of the virus.

The Asian country started its vaccination drive in February this year after receiving vaccines donated by China. With more donations from China as well as the Sinopharm, Sinovac and CanSino vaccines it purchased from China, Pakistan has been immunizing its population from the pandemic.

Asad Umar, head of the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) against COVID-19, said China came for Pakistan’s rescue as a true friend when it was in dire need of the vaccine to immunize its public.

“We were facing a serious challenge and were looking for a friend to come to our rescue, and like always China helped us to overcome the crisis, enabling us to kick off our vaccination drive,” said Umar.

Apart from helping Pakistan with vaccine donations, China also enabled Pakistan to roll out locally produced CanSino vaccine through technology transfer, and to be self-sufficient of the vaccine in the future, Umar said.

With the technological support from the CanSino Biologics Inc., the National Institute of Health of Pakistan recently filled and packed the single-dose CanSino vaccine using the bulk vaccine purchased from China. It was the first COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Pakistan.

Addressing the launching ceremony for the locally produced CanSino vaccine earlier this month, Umar shared results of a local survey, saying that Chinese vaccines are the preferred vaccines due to their superior quality and efficacy.

The vaccine is really a boon for people who have wide interaction with the public on a daily basis, and whose work or business was badly affected by the pandemic, such as transporters, teachers and traders.

M. Ali Kemal, an economic policy advisor at the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, said that the timely vaccination process supported by Chinese vaccines has helped in Pakistan’s economic recovery and boosted the government’s confidence in easing restrictions following a continuous drop in new cases.

He said that with the momentum in vaccination drive, the socio-economic activities in Pakistan will get a boost.

According to the NCOC, 100 million people out of Pakistan’s total population of over 220 million is eligible for vaccination, and the country aims to inoculate them by mid-2022. So far, there have been over 3.5 million fully vaccinated while over 7.2 million partially vaccinated.

Experts and officials believe that China’s vaccine donation and uninterrupted vaccine exports have greatly helped Pakistan and many other countries in their combating COVID-19.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Faisal Sultan said that the vaccination drive in Pakistan centers around the Chinese vaccines.

He added that China’s help in the form of vaccine donations and supplies to countries in need especially the developing countries “underscores the philosophy which the Chinese government put forth, which is that China is doing it for a global good.”