ISLAMABAD, APR 6 (DNA) – Final trials of corona vaccine developed by Chinese multinational, Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd has been initiated in the Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, after which it will be made available to the masses across Pakistan.

The vaccine has already been approved by the Government of China, while trials have been started in Al-Shifa after Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) recommended its Rawalpindi facility for the purpose.

After successful completion of phase 1 and phase 2 of the trials, the third and final phase has been initiated today after the signing of an agreement between Al-Shifa Trust and the Chinese company.

According to the agreement, Zhifei Longcom will be responsible for providing investigational drug and clinical material which meets the requirements while supervising and managing the trial process.

For the purpose, a state-of-the-art Clinical Research Unit has already been established in Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital and trials will be completed in three months with the help of one thousand volunteers.

Speaking at the occasion, the President of the trust, Major General (Retd) Rehmat Khan said that it is an honour for the trust that it has been selected for the vaccine trial by DRAP.

He said that there is an urgent demand for vaccine globally as well as in Pakistan therefore all the cooperation is being extended to the Chinese company.

He informed that it is the fifth vaccine approved in China; it is totally safe and also undergoing the last phase of trials in Uzbekistan and Indonesia and other countries.

He said that the vaccine is similar to many of the other approved vaccines, it is effective, and it can be stored at normal refrigeration temperatures.

Gen. Rehmat also lauded the selflessness of volunteers who have offered for the national and humanitarian cause.

He hoped that the vaccination process in Pakistan will be accelerated after the successful completion of the trials of new vaccine.=DNA

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ISLAMABAD , April 06  : Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood announced Tuesday that on-campus classes for students till grade 8, in districts affected the most by the coronavirus, will remain closed till April 28.

The minister was addressing a press conference after holding an important meeting at the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) attended by all the education and health ministers to decide further on closure or reopening of schools amid the worsening coronavirus situation in the country.

“It has been decided that in districts affected by the coronavirus, physical classes will not be held [in schools of these districts] from grades 1-8 till April 28,” said Mehmood. “It must be borne in mind that not every district has been affected by the coronavirus.”

He said the education minister of Punjab had informed him that 13 districts across the province were affected by the coronavirus, hence on-campus classes will not be held there till April 28.

“The NCOC meeting is reviewing the pandemic situation in the country and will decide the fate of schools,” the education ministry said in a message on Twitter .

The federal government had earlier shut all educational institutions in cities where the coronavirus positivity ratio was high till April 11.

Punjab University issues revised schedule for submission of MA, MSC admission forms.

On Sunday, Mehmood said that education and health ministers will meet at the NCOC on April 6 (today) to decide whether to open or further close educational institutions.

In a tweet, the minister said that the exam situation will also be discussed during the meeting.

“Whatever is decided will be a collective decision of the country’s health and education authorities & NCOC,” he had said.

Students are staging protests in major cities demanding postponement of exams as in-person learning has been badly affected due to the closure of schools.

Students look to Shafqat Mehmood a day before important NCOC meeting.

On the other hand, the Sindh government has suspended on-campus learning till class 8 from April 6 for 15 days, citing risks of the spread of COVID-19.

The provincial government has also suggested the Centre impose a ban on inter-provincial and air transport to control the third wave of coronavirus which has wreaked havoc in the last few weeks.

Islamabad : Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the government is working on ski resort feasibility to promote winter tourism in the country.

In a tweet on Tuesday, he said Deosai, the high altitude plateau in Gilgit-Baltistan, has turned out to be the country’s first ever winter ski traverse.

The Prime Minister shared a number of pictures of the local and foreigner skiers traversing in the snows of Deosai.

Recently, a ski traverse event was held by the Tourism Department of Gilgit-Baltistan at Deosai National Park to encourage tourism in the area.