(Karachi) The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has determined the price of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine which has been imported by the private sector, local media reported on Sunday.

As per details, a meeting of the DRAP's processing board was held on March 19 in which it was recommended to fix the cost of two doses of the Sputnik V vaccine between Rs8,200 to Rs9,000.

Meanwhile, the recommendation of the vaccine price has been forwarded to the health ministry which will present it before the federal cabinet for a final approval.

On March 18, the first shipment of the privately-imported Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V arrived in Karachi.

In January, DRAP had allowed a local pharmaceutical firm, AGP, to import and distribute the Russian-developed Sputnik V.

The vaccine will be provided to large hospitals and institutions which can afford it, AGP said. Russian officials say from now onwards, shipments of this highly effective vaccine will be delivered to Pakistan at regular intervals and help the country fight the pandemic.

They stated that the 50,000 doses can be used to vaccinate 25,000 adults. Around 150,000 more doses of Sputnik V are expected to reach Pakistan by the end of this week.