The Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan has warned that the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm is not recommended for people above 60 years and under 18 years old, pregnant women and lactating mothers.

According to the details, Dr. Faisal Sultan said that the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm was not recommended for people above 60 years of age due to lack of safety and efficacy data in the elderly.

Its trials are underway to determine efficacy for the elderly, pregnant women and lactating mothers, they underscored.

The Sinopharm vaccine should also not be given to patients who have received antibodies or convalescent plasma, patients with pre-existing respiratory or cardiovascular disease, patients with a previous history of anaphylaxis, and individuals who are allergic to any component of this vaccine.

Moreover, the top health official said Russian vaccine Sputnik and another Chinese vaccine Cansino, whose trials have recently concluded in Pakistan, could also be a suitable option.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan recorded 31 deaths and 1,508 fresh cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours.

According to the statistics by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) the total number of deaths has reached 11,833 with 550,540 confirmed cases.

A total of 44,173 tests were conducted across the country during this period. 505,818 people have so far recovered from the disease. The total count of active cases is 32,889.