New Covid vaccine’s fate hangs in balance

An ongoing clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine at the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) was abruptly halted recently, which has put a question mark on the future of the vaccine and the transparency of the trial itself.

The Ojha Campus of DUHS was conducting trials for the LVRNA-021 vaccine, which is imported from China, to check if the vaccine is effective against newer variants of Covid-19, under the supervision of Chinese doctors and Dr Izhar Hussain, who is the Director of Institute of Business and Health Management at DUHS. However, the clinical trial, which was targeting a sample size of 2,000 people, was stopped after only 560 people were inoculated, according to DUHS sources familiar with the matter. The Express Tribune learnt that the sample size was to include people from different brackets but only people aged between 19 to 35 showed interest in the trial, which served as the primary reason for DUHS pulling the plug on it.

In this regard, when The Express Tribune reached out to the Spokesperson of DUHS to confirm the news, the Spokesperson refrained from commenting on the present status of the trial. “The clinical trial was started after the approval of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) and the National Bioethics Committee. Our [DUHS’s] agreement with the apex drug regulatory body stipulates that we cannot provide any information about the trial to the media,” he explained.

When pressed to give basic information about the vaccine’s trial for the awareness of the general public, the Spokesperson said: “The vaccine has been imported from China and anyone can volunteer to take part in the trial.”

In light of the DUHS’s Spokesperson’s information, The Express Tribune inquired from several doctors associated with the clinical trial about the safety measures being taken to protect volunteers. One doctor, who requested anonymity, informed that a complete check-up or test is conducted for those who are part of the clinical trial before the jab is administered.

He further said that there was a monetary incentive for volunteers as well. “Rs 84,000 is being given to those who become part of the trial. An initial check of Rs 24,000 is given the moment the dose is administered and the remainder is given in subsequent weekly checkups.”

The amount being given was confirmed by a participant of the trial, Ramzan Khaskheli. “Given the inflation, the generous cash being offered by DUHS drew me to the trial,” he remarked.

However, either due to a lack of advertisement or general vaccine hesitancy, others have not been as enthusiastic as Khaskheli, another doctor associated with the trial informed. “Most of the people who have been inoculated so far in the trial are poor people from nearby areas who need the cash. But there has hardly been anyone from the 35 plus age group, which is the primary reason for the hospital closing down the trial so early on,” he said.

Since the DUHS cannot officially confirm the fate of the trial or anything related to it, the Express Tribune contacted the Chief Executive Officer of DRAP, Asim Rauf, multiple times to inquire about the trial but did not hear back from him.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2023.