VVIPs are trying to get all kinds of COVID-19 vaccines: UHS vice-chancellor

• Professor Javed Akram says US officials are spreading propaganda against Chinese vaccine. 
• Says no vaccine is 100% effective against coronavirus.
• No coronavirus vaccine registered for commercial use. So far, all vaccines have been approved for emergency use, says Akram.

LAHORE: To analyse various trends in vaccination against COVID-19, the University of Health Sciences (UHS) on Monday launched a public survey, The News reported.

Addressing a press conference, UHS Vice-Chancellor Professor Javed Akram said, "Whether one received multiple jabs of the same vaccine or mix-and-match, the PolyVac Tracker invites individuals (particularly the vaccinated ones) to partake in the simple anonymous survey aimed at recording and sharing self-reported vaccination and post-vaccination experiences."

The ongoing pandemic continued to challenge lifestyles and systems, Professor Javed Akram said, adding that with fast-changing clinical and public-health scenarios, scientific information-sharing and researching are more pressing than ever before.

Mixing COVID-19 vaccines was emerging as a way to get people the protection they needed when faced with safety concerns and unpredictable supplies, he added.

"We as scientists still want answers on real-world efficacy and possible side-effects."

The vice-chancellor said the results of the survey would give researchers confidence that combining other COVID-19 vaccines, that haven’t yet been tested together, might also work.

"Eighty percent of the population must be vaccinated for which the vaccination program needs to be stepped up," he emphasised. He categorically said there was no moral justification for giving VVIPs a third booster dose of the vaccine whereas the majority had not received their first one so far.

Professor Javed Akram said, “VVIPs are trying to get all kinds of vaccines.” However, it remained to be seen whether there was any benefit to having more than one type of vaccine, he said and that 500,000 to 700,000 people, mostly from the upper socioeconomic class in Pakistan, had been vaccinated with more than one type of vaccine.

The PolyVac Tracker survey would show whether the vaccine mix-and-match benefits or harms, he said, adding that the survey form was available on the UHS website.

Responding to media queries, Prof Akram said that he appealed to people not to get tested for antibodies after vaccination as there was no point in getting tested.

"It will only benefit the laboratories that have already earned millions," he said. He added that there could be 39,000 mutations in the coronavirus. No coronavirus vaccine had been registered for commercial use. So far, all vaccines had been approved for emergency use, Prof Javed Akram said and added that vaccines were being made an economic war.

"US officials are spreading propaganda against the Chinese vaccine. The fact is that Chinese vaccines are quite effective against the virus," he maintained. In response to a question, he said no vaccine was 100% effective against coronavirus. All vaccines provided 95 to 100% protection against severe illness. Professor Javed Akram said that the trend of vaccine shopping was not healthy and must be discouraged.

This article originally appeared in the August 10 edition of daily The News. It can be accessed here.