Pakistani court clears Russia's Sputnik-V vaccine for sale

KARACHI – The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday granted permission to a private company that has imported Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine to start selling its doses.

The ruling was issued during the hearing of a petition filed by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) against the sale of the Russian vaccine due to issues related to its price.

A counsel for the importer informed the court that the government had fixed the prices of vaccines after his client received doses from Russia, therefore, the rate does not applicable to the company.

The SHC remarked that every stakeholder should be taken on board in the fight against the prevailing pandemic.

The court added that the stopping the sale of the vaccine at this stage when country is facing third wave of the pandemic is not suitable.

The high court said that it will continue to hear the case despite allowing the company for sale of the vaccine.

The company had demanded the government to fix the price of two doses of the Sputnik V vaccine at Rs12,268 after it was fixed at Rs8450 by the officials.

A day earlier, the government of Pakistan was ordered by the SHC to fix the price of the Russian vaccine within the next seven days.

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