WHO authorizes China’s Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use

The World Health Organization on Friday authorized China’s Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use.

“This afternoon, WHO gave emergency use listing to Sinopharm Beijing’s Covid-19 vaccine, making it the sixth vaccine to receive WHO validation for safety, efficacy, and quality,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news briefing in Geneva Friday.

Tedros said this is another vaccine that can be purchased by COVAX, the initiative to provide equitable global access to Covid-19 vaccines, and gives countries confidence to expedite their own regulatory approvals and imports.

WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) reviewed the available data and recommended the vaccine for adults age 18 and older with a two-dose schedule, Tedros said.

WHO has also given emergency use authorization to vaccines made by Pf