WHO approves China’s Sinovac vaccine for emergency use

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) – The World Health Organization on Tuesday approved the vaccine made by the Chinese drugmaker Sinovac for emergency use against COVID-19.

It is the eighth coronavirus vaccine authorized by the global health organization.

The WHO said it is “giving countries, funders, procuring agencies and communities the assurance that it meets international standards for safety, efficacy, and manufacturing.”

The CoronaVac vaccine is produced by the Beijing-based pharmaceutical company Sinovac.

In assessing Sinovac’s vaccine, the WHO said it included on-site inspections of the production facility.

“The Sinovac-CoronaVac product is an inactivated vaccine. Its easy storage requirements make it very manageable and particularly suitable for low-resource settings,” it said.

WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said at a virtual press conference that “we have the means to end this pandemic quickly. The question is do we have the will?”

Tedros said the aim is to increase vaccinations of people faster, and the WHO and its COVAX partners have a goal of giving doses to some 30% of the population in all countries by the end of 2021, and it could even reach 40%.

“The world desperately needs multiple COVID-19 vaccines to address the huge access inequity across the globe,” said Mariangela Simao, WHO assistant-director general for access to health products.

“We urge manufacturers to participate in the COVAX facility, share their know-how and data, and contribute to bringing the pandemic under control.”

The WHO has already listed the US-German vaccine Pfizer/BioNTech, South Korea’s AstraZeneca-SK Bio, Serum Institute of India, Astra Zeneca EU, Janssen and Moderna of the US, and China’s Sinopharm shots for emergency use.

COVAX is a worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. It is directed by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the WHO.

It allows countries to accelerate their regulatory approval to import and administer COVID-19 vaccines.

The WHO’s Emergency Use Listing is a COVAX facility vaccine supply and international procurement condition.​​​​​​​