ISLAMABAD: Falling Covid-19 infection numbers in Pakistan will not affect a phase 3 clinical trial for a potential vaccine being developed by China’s CanSino Biologics, which is expected to begin this month, according to officials running the trial.

Pakistan’s drug regulator last month gave the go-ahead for the country’s first Phase 3 clinical trial for CanSino’s candidate, Ad5-nCoV, which will be led by the government-run National Institute of Health (NIH) along with pharmaceutical company AJM, the local representative of CanSino.

“We are planning to launch the project on Sept 20, or at the latest within this month,” Hassan Abbas Zaheer, who is heading the trial for AJM, told Reuters.

The Ad5-nCoV vaccine and placebo injections are due to be received in Pakistan next week.

Daily positive cases in Pakistan peaked at more than 6,000 in June, but have since fallen sharply, with only 426 confirmed new cases detected on Sept 8, taking its total to 299,659 and 6,359 deaths.

Zaheer said the low positive rates did not indicate Covid-19 was no longer present in the country, and the potential for people vaccinated in the trial to be infected was still adequate for testing their immunity.

“We feel people are still getting infected but not getting tested, so the virus is still there,” he said.

Aamer Ikram, Executive Director of the NIH, told Reuters that officials believed the prevalence of the virus in Pakistan was low, despite the low testing rate, but researchers had a plan in place for the trial.

“We have been strategizing with CanSino on how to make sure people who are more exposed to the virus are recruited for volunteers, so we will be targeting front-line workers who have more chances of exposure.”

The Ad5-nCoV trial will recruit around 8,000 volunteers, most of whom will be health workers.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2020

Opinion

Editorial

Stalled talks
Updated 25 Jan, 2025

Stalled talks

It would have been wiser for PTI to not react to the provocation. However bitter their differences, both parties need something from each other.
Bureaucratic approach
25 Jan, 2025

Bureaucratic approach

WHEN bureaucrats fancy themselves as scholars, universities suffer. It’s a pity this is a lesson the Sindh...
West Bank’s turn
25 Jan, 2025

West Bank’s turn

MERE days after pausing the Gaza genocide, Israel has turned its guns on the occupied West Bank. Though Israel had...
Digital dragnet
24 Jan, 2025

Digital dragnet

The Pakistani state must stop inflicting wounds on itself and learn to resolve its internal issues through social and political means.
USC closure
24 Jan, 2025

USC closure

THE PML-N government seems to have finally firmed up its mind on the future of the Utility Stores. The cabinet has...
Hindu exodus
Updated 24 Jan, 2025

Hindu exodus

The state cannot absolve itself of the responsibility to protect Hindu citizens, and assure them of safety.