By Sue-Ann Wayow
ANOTHER Chinese created Covid-19 vaccine has been granted World Health Organisation (WHO) approval.
On Tuesday, WHOstated that the Sinovac-CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccine was approved for emergency use giving countries, funders, procuring agencies and communities the assurance that it meets international standards for safety, efficacy and manufacturing. The vaccine is produced by the Beijing-based pharmaceutical company Sinovac.
It is the second Chinese Covid-19 vaccine after Sinopharm to be given approval by the main global governing health body. Sinopharm was granted approval in May.
WHO Assistant-Director General for Access to Health Products Dr Mariângela Simão said, “The world desperately needs multiple Covid-19 vaccines to address the huge access inequity across the globe. We urge manufacturers to participate in the COVAX Facility, share their knowhow and data and contribute to bringing the pandemic under control.”
WHO’s Emergency Use Listing (EUL) is a prerequisite for COVAX Facility vaccine supply and international procurement. It also allows countries to expedite their own regulatory approval to import and administer COVID-19 vaccines.
WHO stated that in the case of the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine, the WHO assessment 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 WHO added. The vaccine can be stored in a standard refrigerator at 2-8 degrees Celsius.
WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) has also completed its review of the vaccine. On the basis of available evidence, WHO recommends the vaccine for use in adults 18 years and older, in a two-dose schedule with a spacing of two to four weeks.
Vaccine efficacy results showed that the vaccine prevented symptomatic disease in 51% of those vaccinated and prevented severe Covid-19 and hospitalisation in 100% of the studied population.
Few older adults (over 60 years) were enrolled in clinical trials, so efficacy could not be estimated in this age group WHO stated.
However, WHO is not recommending an upper age limit for the vaccine because data collected during subsequent use in multiple countries and supportive immunogenicity data suggest the vaccine is likely to have a protective effect in older persons.
WHO stated, “There is no reason to believe that the vaccine has a different safety profile in older and younger populations. WHO recommends that countries using the vaccine in older age groups conduct safety and effectiveness monitoring to verify the expected impact and contribute to making the recommendation more robust for all countries.”
WHO has already approved for emergency use Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Sinopharm.
