The World Health Organization on Friday approved the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use, paving the way for poorer nations to get more vaccines that can help tackle the pandemic.
Sinopharm's vaccine is also the first Chinese jab to receive the WHO's approval. The UN health agency signed off on the two-dose vaccine, which is already being deployed in dozens of countries around the world. Besides China, it is being used in Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Hungary, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Peru, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia and Seychelles, among others.
An emergency use approval by the WHO means the vaccine can be included in Covax, the World Health Organization’s global initiative that is designed to promote equitable vaccine distribution around the world.
Though the Sinopharm vaccine is already in widespread use around the world with an estimated 65 million doses administered, its developers have released only limited information about the vaccine’s efficiency and side effects.