Pakistan to conduct Covid-19 vaccine trials in Karachi

Karachi - The test will be carried out by the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences.

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) on Monday gave approval for the clinical trial of a Covid-19 vaccine that will be tested on as many as 200 volunteers from Karachi. 
Drap Clinical Studies Committee secretary, Shafqat Hussain Danish, recommended that the trial be carried out at the Indus Hospital in Karachi. The test will be carried out by the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences, Karachi, in collaboration with a Chinese company already conducting trials in China.
The trial will be completed in 56 days during which volunteers, both men and women, will be administered three jabs of inactivated virus. The National Data Safety Monitoring Committee will closely monitor the safety of the volunteers and submit reports on a monthly basis, Dawn reported.
While a Drap official, not authorised to speak on record, said it was a major development and that in case of a successful trial, the vaccine would become available to the masses.

• Pakistan