WHO Approves China’s Sinovac COVID-19 Vaccine For Emergency Use

Sinovac-Corona Vaccine, a brand of COVID-19 vaccine from China has been approved by the World Health Organisation for emergency use.

The announcement of the approval was contained in a statement released on Tuesday by the World Health Organisation.

WHO added that the vaccine met the required standards on safe administration.

Sinovac-Corona Vaccine is the second vaccine approved from China — the first was Sinopharm — and the eighth brand to be listed for emergency use by the use by the WHO.

Others already listed for emergency use are “Pfizer/BioNTech, Astrazeneca-SK Bio, Serum Institute of India, AstraZeneca EU, Janssen, Moderna and Sinopharm”.

Sinovac-CoronaVac is produced by a pharmaceutical company based in Beijing.

“In the case of the Sinovac-Corona Vaccine vaccine, the WHO assessment included on-site inspections of the production facility. The Sinovac-Corona Vaccine product is an inactivated vaccine. Its easy storage requirements make it very manageable and particularly suitable for low-resource settings,” the statement from WHO reads.

“The vaccine has also been reviewed by the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE).” WHO recommends the vaccine for individuals 18 years and older, in a two-dose schedule spaced two to four weeks apart, based on existing data.