ISLAMABAD: In a major achievement in the health sector, Pakistan has been honoured with the Director’s Award for Excellence in Epidemiology and Public Health Response during an international conference in the United States.

 Pakistan’s National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad has been given the award in recognition of its contribution in the field of epidemiology and public health emergency response during the Field Epidemiology Training Programme (FETP) and Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) International Conference 2021 held at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States.

The Director’s Award for Excellence is considered the highest achievement accolade for countries that have made significant contributions toward successful responses to public health emergencies.

The award is also to recognise excellence in epidemiologic research and contributions that address public health issues by applying epidemiologic principles and methods.

Earlier, the National Institute of Health (NIH) had been working on a plan to develop a single-dose coronavirus vaccine for Pakistan.

“Our team is ready to undertake this task, while a Chinese team is already here to oversee the exercise,” NIH Executive Director Major General Aamer Ikram told the National Assembly standing committee on national health services.

He had said the NIH had carried out a clinical trial of the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine CanSinoBio, placing the country among the first few to do so.

China had been formally asked to transfer the vaccine technology and raw material for the vaccine will reach the country shortly, the NIH official had said.