Pakistan approves emergency use of Moderna's Covid vaccine

KARACHI – The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) Thursday granted Emergency Use Authorization to Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine for all adults.

The move comes as the South Asian country is set to receive 2.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine from the US via COVAX – a global vaccine sharing program.

All requirements for the emergency usage of mRNA-based vaccines have been fulfilled and guidelines issued for the staff and the people.

The Moderna vaccine unlike other vaccines needs special handling and cold chain maintenance to preserve the vaccine’s efficacy. The jabs need to be transported safely while storage, administration, and disposal of the vaccine waste must be ensured at all vaccination facilities.

As per the guidelines, the frozen vials should be stored at -25 Celsius to -15 Celsius and protected from light, in the original packaging. In addition, it should not be stored on dry ice or below -40 Celsius.

The vaccine should be given to people to pregnant and lactating women, including those with chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, cardiac failure, renal failure and, chronic liver disease.

However, people having severe allergic reactions or immediate allergic reactions should not be vaccinated. The vaccine is also not recommended for persons younger than 18 years of age in wake of the lack of study on younger ones.

On Monday, the United States announced to send 2.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine to Pakistan. In addition to Pakistan, the US will also ship two million doses of Pfizer vaccine to Peru, and 1.5m doses of Moderna vaccine to Honduras.