Covid-19: WHO approves Chinese Sinovac vaccine for emergency use

The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved the Covid-19 vaccine made by Sinovac for emergency use. It is the second Chinese vaccine to be approved by the WHO after it gave a nod to Sinopharm’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in early May.

The World Health Organization has issued an emergency use listing for the Covid-19 vaccine made by Sinovac in adults aged 18 and over, the second such authorisation it has granted to a Chinese company. In a statement Tuesday, the UN health agency said data submitted to its experts showed that two doses of the vaccine prevented people from getting symptoms of Covid-19 in about half of those who got the vaccine. WHO said there were few older adults enrolled in the research, so it could not estimate how effective the vaccine was in people over age 60. “Nevertheless, WHO is not recommending an upper age limit for the vaccine,” the agency said, adding that data collected from Sinovac’s use in other countries “suggest the vaccine is likely to have a protective effect in older persons.”