Sinopharm Efficacy Rate: China’s COVID-19 Vaccine Gets WHO Approval for Adult Emergency Use

Health Workers At Ricardo Palma Clinic Vaccinated Against COVID-19

(Photo : Getty Images/Raul Sifuentes)
LIMA, PERU - FEBRUARY 15: View of vials of the Sinopharm vaccine at Ricardo Palma clinic on February 15, 2021 in Lima, Peru. The clinic received a batch of Sinopharm vaccines in order to vaccinate health wokers as part Peru's vaccination campaign against COVID-19.

The WHO has approved the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese state-owned company Sinopharm for emergency use. It is the first vaccine created by a non-Western country to receive WHO support.

Sinopharm Vaccine Estimated to Be 79%

The novel coronavirus vaccine is the first Chinese dose to receive the WHO's green light. The United Nations health agency signed off on the two-shot vaccine. It is already being disseminated in dozens of countries around the globe.

The news was announced on Friday by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The same approval was granted to vaccines from companies AstraZeneca, BioNTech-Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson.

The decision bolstered the credentials of the China-made dose in the midst of doubts over its efficacy. According to the director-general, the emergency use listing for the dose is for a two-dose regimen for adults aged 18 and over. It was developed in partnership with the Beijing Institute of Biological Products, reported Financial Times.

A WHO emergency listing is a green light to national regulators that a product is safe and effective. Previously this week, separate experts had voiced our concern regarding the quality of data the company provided on its side effects, reported France 24.

The move enables the coronavirus vaccine to be included in Covax, a worldwide initiative that offers free vaccines to impoverished countries. The possible inclusion in Covax raises hopes that more individuals, especially people in developing countries, will get access to doses at a crucial moment.

Rich nations are hoarding doses. A major vaccine maker, India, has halted exports to address its aggravating coronavirus crisis.

According to Ghebreyesus, "This expands the list of COVID-19 vaccines that COVAX can buy, and gives countries confidence to expedite their own regulatory approval, and to import and administer a vaccine." Meanwhile, Senior WHO adviser Bruce Aylward stated it would be up to Sinopharm to indicate the number of doses of its vaccine that could be provided to the program. However, he added, They are looking at trying to provide substantial support, make substantial doses available while at the same time of course trying to serve China's population," reported Reuters.

Ghebreyesus also stated solving the vaccine crisis necessitates that they pull out all the stops. He also said that currently, dissemination and volume of vaccines are not enough to end the pandemic without the sustained and engineered application of public health measures that they know work.

Separate health regulators in countries, especially poorer ones in Latin America, Africa, and Asia have approved Chinese doses for emergency use. With little information released globally earlier, the effectiveness of the various Chinese vaccines has been uncertain for a long duration.

The Sinopharm vaccine is already accessible in 42 territories across the world. It is fourth behind AstraZeneca (166), Pfizer-BioNTech (94), and Moderna (46), an AFP tally indicated. A throng of other vaccines is on the path towards WHO emergency use listing.