Sri Lanka approves emergency use of China’s Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine

Sri Lanka has approved the emergency use of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine (also known as BBIBP-CorV) developed in China.

The approval was granted by National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA), State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Prof. Channa Jayasumana said speaking on the matter.

This vaccine is produced by China National Biotec Group (CNBG) – a subsidiary of China National Pharmaceutical Group Corporation (SINOPHARM).

Several countries including the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and the Philippines have already authorized the use of the vaccine. Hungary meanwhile became the first European Union member country to give the nod to China’s Sinopharm vaccine.

Less developed countries with no access to deep-freezing facilities would benefit from this type of vaccine, which is based on an “inactivated” virus, as they can be transported more easily and at normal fridge temperatures.

Tests in the UAE had suggested that the vaccine was 86% effective against preventing infection in Phase 3 trials involving 31,000 people. However, the manufacturer revised the figure to 79.34% after it received more data.

-with inputs from agencies