Coronavirus: WHO gives emergency approval to China’s Sinopharm vaccine

Name: SCMP Explains: What’s in a Covid-19 vaccine?
Uploaded: 2021-05-07T15:31:57.000Z
Duration: 6 min 18 s
Description: SCMP Explains: What’s in a Covid-19 vaccine?

‘The addition of this vaccine has the potential to rapidly accelerate Covid-19 vaccine access,’ says WHO official

The Sinopharm approval comes more than four months after the WHO handed out its first emergency use listing for a Covid-19 vaccine to Pfizer and BioNTech

4-MIN READ4-MIN

People wait to receive a dose of the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine in Skopje, North Macedonia. Photo: EPA-EFE

Eduardo Baptista,Simone McCarthyandZhuang Pinghui

Published: 11:31pm, 7 May 2021Updated: 11:46pm, 8 May 2021

The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved the first Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use worldwide, as many countries struggle for access in the face of export curbs and production shortfalls.

The WHO on Friday said a Covid-19 vaccine by state-owned Sinopharm met the criteria for emergency use, giving it a globally recognised stamp of approval that will enable it be included in the UN body’s global vaccine distribution programme.

“The addition of this vaccine has the potential to rapidly accelerate Covid-19 vaccine access for countries seeking to protect health workers and populations at risk,” said Dr Mariângela Simão, WHO assistant-director general for access to health products.

“We urge the manufacturer to participate in the Covax Facility and contribute to the goal of more equitable vaccine distribution.”

06:18

SCMP Explains: What’s in a Covid-19 vaccine?

Sinopharm said on Saturday that the listing – the first for a product from a “non-Western country” – was a “leap forward” in making vaccines accessible and affordable, especially in developing countries.

“This indicates that the quality, safety, efficacy and accessibility of the vaccine meets the requirements of the WHO and adds Chinese power to fighting the Covid-19 pandemic,” it said.