Covid-19: China approves Sinovac vaccine for general public use
- The drug maker said Coronavac had been given the green light based on phase three trial data, even though the final results are not yet available
- It will be the second Chinese-made vaccine approved for general use after a drug made by Sinopharm
The Chinese authorities have given conditional approval for the general public use of a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac Biotech, the company said on Saturday.
The approval is based on results from two months’ worth of phase three clinical trials overseas. However, it said the final analysis data has not yet been obtained and the efficacy and safety results have to be further confirmed.
The firm had officially filed for conditional approval with the National Medical Products Administration on Wednesday.
The move came a day after the company released data from trials in Brazil, Turkey, Indonesia and Chile, which started in July.
A total of 25,000 participants took part in trials across those four countries.
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As of December CoronaVac was 50.4 per cent effective for preventing mild cases and 83.7 per cent effective for cases requiring medical treatment, according to late-stage trials involving 12,396 Brazilian health workers, the company said.
It showed a 91.25 per cent efficacy based on an interim analysis of 29 cases in Turkey.
Sinovac’s chairman Yin Weidong said in a statement the approval “marks significant progress in tackling Covid-19.”
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He added: “We look forward to providing more safe and effective vaccines and ultimately controlling the disease by increasing the vaccination rate, and letting our society and economy get back to normal.”
The company is opening a second production line for the vaccine later this month, which will double its capacity to a billion doses a year.
