Sinopharm: Chinese Covid vaccine gets WHO emergency approval

 

The World Health Organization announced Friday that it would list for emergency use a coronavirus vaccine made by Chinese firm Sinopharm.The step means that the vaccine, developed by Sinopharm with the Beijing Institute of Biological Products, can be used to bolster WHO-backed efforts such as the Covax initiative to share doses equitably around the world.It is also a major boost in international recognition for Sinopharm’s vaccine and for Chinese pharmaceutical research.  It marks the first time that any Chinese-made vaccine received emergency authorization from the WHO.This expands the list of covid-19 vaccines that Covax can buy, and gives countries confidence to expedite their own regulatory approval, and to import and administer a vaccine,” WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news briefing on Friday.