Pakistan's President Arif Alvi on March 29 tested positive for COVID-19, days after taking the first dose of vaccine against coronavirus.
An update issued on the official social media handle of the president confirmed that he has contracted the contagious disease.
"I have tested positive for COVID-19. May Allah have mercy on all COVID affectees. Had 1st dose of vaccine but antibodies start developing after 2nd dose that was due in a week. Please continue to be careful. (sic)," the tweet read.
Alvi was vaccinated on March 15, followed by Prime Minister Imran Khan who took the jab on March 19.
Both the leaders were given China's Sinopharm vaccine, which has been approved for emergency use by Pakistan's health regulator.
Khan tested positive for COVID-19 on March 20, a day after receiving the first vaccine dose.
Questions have since been raised about the efficacy of the Sinopharm vaccine.
The Pakistani government has attempted to dispel the "rumours", claiming that those administered with both doses of the vaccine will largely attain immunity against coronavirus.
"It is given in two doses and takes a few weeks to become effective. In most cases it is 100 percent effective and in remaining, severity of infection is greatly reduced which increases survival rate. Beware of those who create doubt," Alvi had tweeted on March 21.
The vaccine's manufacturer - Sinopharm’s China National Biotec Group (CNBG) - has claimed that it is 79 percent effective in preventing the coronavirus infection. The trials conducted in Turkey, Indonesia, and Brazil have reported efficacy rates ranging from 50 percent to 91 percent.
