ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday launched its homemade Covid-19 vaccine named "PakVac" which it developed with the help of its ally China in order to vaccinate people in the country and bring under control the spread of coronavirus cases in the nation.
Special Assistant Health Dr Faisal Sultan said that Pakistan is trying to overcome the difficult challenges and turn them into opportunities with the help of friends.
"We found our friend China closest to us in overcoming the Covid-19 challenge," he said at the launch ceremony here, adding that China provided the raw material for the vaccine but still it was not easy to develop it.
Dr Sultan said the local mass production of the vaccine will begin in the coming days.
Asad Umar, chief of National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), said it was an important day for Pakistan.
The development came as the positivity rate fell below 4 per cent for the first time in three months when 1,771 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the tally of confirmed cases to 922,824, according to the Ministry of National Health Services.
The vaccination has also picked up and so far more than 7.3 million doses have been administered to over 5.3 million people vaccinated, including about 2 million fully vaccinated.