Pakistan in phase III trials of Chinese vaccine with expectation to see COVID-free future

-- According to the country's National Institute of Health (NIH), some 17,500 people from different social circles and areas of the country have volunteered to take part in the trials underway at five different sites in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, the major cities of Pakistan.

-- Qaisar Sohail, area manager of AJM Pharma, a pharmaceutical company which is a partner of the trial and would sponsor the vaccine in Pakistan after its final launch in China, said that people are eagerly awaiting the vaccine in Pakistan to combat the hike in COVID-19 cases and fatalities during the second wave, which is also a motivating factor for the trial volunteers.

-- "China has always played a major role in helping Pakistan in different sectors ... Now China offered us phase III clinical trials, helping us to upgrade in the health sector," Ghazala Parveen, chief of Biological Production Division at the NIH, told Xinhua.

A medical worker takes blood sample from a volunteer before giving him a shot during the phase III trials of a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, on Jan. 8, 2021. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

ISLAMABAD, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Having volunteered to take part in the phase III trials of a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine in a private hospital here, Majid Abbasi had mixed feelings.

Though some members of his family expressed concern, the 21-year-old student was eager to have the vaccine administered because it would give him a better chance to defeat the disease, and in a broader sense, a safe and effective vaccine could be a way out for humanity to beat the pandemic.

"The pandemic has hit Pakistan hard. Hundreds of thousands of people got infected and thousands died," Abbasi said.

"I believe that volunteering for the vaccine will not only help me to get myself protected from the disease, but I will proudly tell my friends and family that I made a small effort to help the world get (a) vaccine by being one of the volunteers to be a part of the trials," he told Xinhua after being vaccinated.

A medical worker checks a tube of blood sample of a volunteer during the phase III trials of a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, Jan. 8, 2021. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

TRIALS UNDERWAY

According to the country's National Institute of Health (NIH), some 17,500 people from different social circles and areas of the country have volunteered to take part in the trials underway at five different sites in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, the major cities of Pakistan.

The vaccine, referred to as Ad5-nCoV, is developed by China's CanSino Biologics and the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology. Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad is collaborating with the NIH on the Pakistani side.

"The criteria for volunteers is very simple: anyone who is healthy and age is over 18 may come and take part in the trial," Omeira Naseer, supervisor of the vaccine trial at Shifa, told Xinhua.

A volunteer enters an administration room for the phase III trials of a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, Jan. 8, 2021. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

"Initially it was quite a challenge for us to motivate the volunteers because it is a new experience for Pakistanis," Naseer said. "But to our surprise, more and more people and even whole families of volunteers are contacting us to undergo the trial due to the positive word of mouth from other volunteers, which created a general awareness about the safety of the vaccine and its trials."

Naseer, who has been hired by the NIH to supervise the vaccine administration, said that she opted for the "challenging and risky job" as she knew the work requires interaction with a lot of volunteers and she would risk catching the virus and passing it on to her children.

But being a doctor, she said she knew how to protect herself "by following the protective measures."

A medical worker prepares a syringe during the phase III trials of a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, Jan. 8, 2021. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

It was also a new experience for Naseer in a phase III trial of a vaccine.

"I have studied phase III trials in books like all of the other doctors in Pakistan, because the country doesn't have enough resources and research to conduct the trials. So it is a great opportunity for Pakistan to conduct such trials here," she said, adding: "It helped us to be in the countries working on vaccine development and further strengthened Pak-China friendship."

Naseer said that Chinese experts provided them with all technical support and the knowhow about the trials, enabling the trials to be conducted efficiently. About 95 percent of the trials have already been completed, she added.

Trial sample will be sent to a third-party observer which will give its final evaluation of the vaccine, she said.

A medical worker (R) introduces a COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's CanSino Biologics and the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology during its phase III trials in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, Jan. 8, 2021. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

HIGH DEMAND EXPECTED

According to the NIH, half of the volunteers get a placebo dose, while the rest get the vaccine for research purposes through computerized entry. Neither the volunteer nor the supervisor knows if the dose is a placebo or not, but those who got the placebo will get vaccine after its formal launch.

In a conversation with Xinhua, Qaisar Sohail, area manager of AJM Pharma, a pharmaceutical company which is a partner of the trial and would sponsor the vaccine in Pakistan after its final launch in China, said that people are eagerly awaiting the vaccine in Pakistan to combat the hike in COVID-19 cases and fatalities during the second wave, which is also a motivating factor for the trial volunteers.

"The NIH targets to rope in 18,000 people in the trials, and the current results indicate that the vaccine is very suitable for Pakistanis, so it is expected to have high demand in the country after its formal launch in China," Sohail said.

A volunteer receives a shot during the phase III trials of a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, Jan. 8, 2021. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

"The trials have developed a confidence in people here about the safety of the Chinese vaccine, as a large number of people had it and stayed safe," Sohail added.

Ejaz Ahmad Khan, a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist at Shifa, is the principal investigator of the vaccine trials in Pakistan and keeps close contact with the volunteers to monitor their condition after vaccination.

"The trial has been very smooth until now, we have had no major serious adverse events so far ... We think that this initial period has, to some extent, proved its safety and suitableness for Pakistanis," said the investigator.

Volunteers wait for their turns for the phase III trials of a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, Jan. 8, 2021. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

NEW VISTA OF COOPERATION

Medical experts here have also expressed their belief that the vaccine trials have opened up a new vista of Pakistan-China cooperation in the health sector, in addition to bilateral ties in energy, infrastructure and industrialization under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

"China has always played a major role in helping Pakistan in different sectors ... Now China offered us phase III clinical trials, helping us to upgrade in the health sector," Ghazala Parveen, chief of Biological Production Division at the NIH, told Xinhua.

Photo taken on Jan. 8, 2021 shows the vaccines used in the phase III trials of a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

She said that many developing countries, including Pakistan, have high hopes for China to develop and distribute a vaccine.

Pakistan's health departments say Chinese vaccines are ideal. "It can be stored at 8 degrees Celsius, the same temperature at which most of the other vaccines available in the country are stored. It has only one dose, an ideal choice for the society badly awaiting," Parveen said.

Earlier this month, in the latest telephone conversation between Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, they agreed to finish the trial in Pakistan at an early date to get the vaccine out to the public.

China is willing to provide Pakistan with as much support as possible to help Pakistan defeat the coronavirus, said Wang.