KARACHI: The country is in danger of running out of life-saving products like vaccines and insulin merely because the National Con­trol Laboratory has stopped the process of certification, according to importers and government officials.

They confirmed that the position of chief federal analyst — the signing authority — was vacant since the retirement of the previous incumbent over a month ago. The appointment of his successor has not been notified as yet.

The situation, importers feared, could lead to a shortage of key products next week. “Things could become disastrous for the critically ill,” an importer warned.

“The delay can cause suffering to thousands of patients as stocks have already started depleting in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The products in short supply are vaccines for rabies, tetanus, typhoid and hepatitis B, tetanus immunoglobulin, rabies immunoglobulin, insulin and many more.”

Worried traders have as a last resort approached the chief of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) for an urgent action.

The federal health ministry has not appointed a chief analyst or signing authority for certificates issued by the National Control Labora­tory, said a letter written by the Pakistan Chemists and Druggists Association to Drap.

“In these critical circumstances that our country is going through, numerous life-saving biological products cannot be supplied by our member companies to the market because no certificates are being issued,” the letter bemoaned.

The druggists association called it a “critical situation” as the supply of most of these products had already dwindled, adding to the misery of patients waiting for such essential products.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2020