China's Sinovac made vaccine gets WHO's approval

Geneva: The World Health Organization on Tuesday approved the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use.

With this, Sinovac becomes the second Chinese jab to receive the WHO's green light after Sinopharm was given the global body's official support on May 11.

In a statement, the UN health agency announced the approval for the Sinovac-CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use, giving countries, funders, procuring agencies and communities the assurance that it meets international standards for safety, efficacy and manufacturing.

The WHO recommended its use for people aged 18 and older in a two-dose schedule with a spacing of two to four weeks between shots.

Vaccine efficacy results showed that the vaccine prevented symptomatic disease in 51% of those vaccinated and prevented severe Covid-19 and hospitalisation in 100% of the studied population, the WHO said.

Following approval, Mariângela Simao, assistant director-general for access to health products at the WHO explained how the world desperately needs multiple COVID-19 vaccines to address the huge access inequity across the globe.

The authorisation of the Sinovac is now expected to pave the way for a wider rollout of the controversial shot in countries scrambling for a supply of immunizations.

In recent weeks, the WHO had sought more details regarding the safety of the shot and requested data about Sinovac's manufacturing process to assess whether it is compliant with WHO standards, according to people familiar with the matter.