ISLAMABAD: Pakistan National Pharmacovigilance Centre (PNPC) of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) has arranged a day-long training on “reporting of Covid-19 vaccine adverse events” on Monday.
This session is being arranged for the capacity building of focal persons on potential adverse effects of the Covid-19 jabs.
So far, the government has approved three vaccines for emergency use and establishes as many as 582 emergency vaccination centers for their administration.
As per the roll-out plan, the vaccine will first be made available to more than 400,000 doctors and frontline healthcare workers, teachers and social workers because they run the highest risk of exposure to the contagious disease.
After that, the shots will be provided to citizens over the age of 65, who generally face a higher mortality risk from the virus.
According to WHO directions, following the administration of jabs, the vaccine developer will report any adverse events to the global health regulator.
Similarly, in addition to its efficacy, the vaccine is expected to be safe. Any untoward side effects may be reported to Division of Pharmacy Services, DRAP.
These vaccine centers will remain vigilant and report any adverse effects to the office of the District Health Officer (DHO) and will forward to provincial and national focal persons of Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) and Pharmacovigilance centres respectively.
National EPI will officially submit its report to PNPC while National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) will also collect information on adverse effects on Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) and National Immunisation Management System (NIMS) database.
DRAP Director Dr Abdur Rashid who received training from various countries will deliver lectures in this regard.
Organisers of the event expressed the confidence this day-long training will help and support the provinces to report adverse events of vaccines. As per the plan, any such events will be reported on a daily, weekly and monthly basis depending on their severity.
Representatives from WHO Country office and DRAP CEO will also join the session.
