BEIJING/GENEVA: World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said it has approved China’s second COVID-19 vaccine, ‘Sinovac’, for inclusion in the emergency use list.
“WHO today approved the Sinovac-Coronavac COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use,” the UN health agency said in a statement.
The statement further said, “Countries, procurement agencies and communities are assured that this vaccine meets international standards in terms of safety, efficacy and formulation.” The vaccine is made by Beijing-based pharmaceutical company Sinovac.
“The world is in dire need of multiple COVID-19 vaccines,” said Dr Mariangela Simao, WHO’s assistant director-general.
“We urge the producers to participate in the Covax programme, share their knowledge and data and contribute towards bringing the pandemic under control,” he added.
The WHO on May 7 gave conditional approval to China’s Sinoform Kovid-19 vaccine for emergency use.
