ISLAMABAD: Private importers in Pakistan are negotiating to acquire more of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine for commercial sale. AGP Pharma, a pharmaceutical company based in the southern city of Karachi that imported 50,000 doses of Sputnik V, said on Thursday they were trying to get their hands on more.

"Our negotiations are ongoing things are in the pipeline and we will know in a couple of days how many more doses we may get," company's spokesman Umair Mukhtar said.  Health Ministry spokesman Sajid Shah also said that more importers were seeking the government's permission to import Russian jabs after a price dispute was resolved.

Pakistan's government last week allowed private companies to import vaccines from Russia and China but imposed a price cap on the amount that could be charged to the consumer, around 80 dollars for two doses of Sputnik V.

The importers had earlier refused to roll out the vaccine unless they were allowed to set the price higher than the 50-dollar cap the government was demanding. While private distributors have not been able to start purchases from China, a higher demand for that jab has pushed the price beyond $100 at some private hospitals.

The 50,000 doses that AGP Pharma earlier imported were over-booked within hours, according to hospitals.

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