The National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) has approved China’s Sinovac Covid vaccine for emergency use in Sri Lanka.
Accordingly, all Covid-19 vaccines approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) can now be used in Sri Lanka, State Minister Prof. Channa Jayasumana said.
On June 01, WHO validated the Sinovac-CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine 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.
The WHO’s independent panel of experts said it recommended Sinovac’s vaccine for adults over 18. There was no upper age limit as data suggested it is likely to have a protective effect in older people.
Branded CoronaVac in some regions, it is the eighth vaccine to win such a WHO listing to combat COVID-19 and the second developed by a Chinese company, after the May 7 approval of a shot developed by state-backed Sinopharm.
The WHO said results showed it prevented symptomatic disease in 51% of those vaccinated and prevented severe COVID-19 and hospitalisation in 100% of the studied population.
The WHO’s separate Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) had said previously that vaccine efficacy in multi-country Phase III clinical trials ranged from 51% to 84%.
China has already deployed hundreds of millions of doses of both Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines at home and exported them to many countries, including Sri Lanka.
-With agencies inputs
