WHO To Issue Recommendation on Chinese Vaccines Soon

Citizens waiting to be inoculated with Sinovac vaccines, Manila, Philippines, March 31, 2021. | Photo: Twitter/ @rapplerdotcom

31 March 2021

The emergency use of Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines could be authorized in the coming days.

The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Wednesday reported that the World Health Organization (WHO) will soon confirm whether or not to authorize the emergency use of Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines.

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"The data shared by the two companies... clearly indicate that the vaccines have levels of efficacy compatible with WHO requirements," the SAGE President Alejandro Cravioto said.

The WHO list of emergency vaccines is intended to aid decision-making in countries that do not have pharmaceutical regulatory bodies.

In the coming days, the multilateral institution could also report on the addition of Moderna and Sputnik V vaccines to its list.

So far, WHO has authorized the emergency use of vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Janssen, and AstraZeneca.

This multilateral institution also uses its emergency vaccine list to procure drugs through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility (COVAX), which is tasked with distributing doses in developing countries.

For now, the bulk of some 30 million vaccines distributed through COVAX were manufactured by AstraZeneca in partnership with South Korea's SK BIO and the Serological Institute of India.

India.