It recommends administering Sinopharm to those over 18 years of age in two doses three to four weeks apart. Its effectiveness in preventing disease symptoms and hospitalizations is estimated at 79% and its easy storage requirements make it well suited for low-resource settings.
The World Health Organization has included the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine against COVID-19 in its emergency use list, officials at the UN agency announced.
“This expands the list of vaccines that COVAX* can purchase and gives countries the confidence to accelerate their own regulatory approval and to import and administer a vaccine,” said the Organization’s director general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
It is the first vaccine that will carry a vaccine vial monitor , a small label on vaccine vials that changes color as the vaccine is exposed to heat.
For her part, Dr. Mariângela Simão, WHO Deputy Director General for Access to Health Products, explained that “the addition of this vaccine has the potential to rapidly accelerate access to the COVID-19 vaccine for countries seeking to protect the health workers and at-risk populations.”
This is the sixth vaccine to receive validation from the UN agency for its “safety and effectiveness”, after having previously approved those from Moderna, Johnson and Johnson, Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Serum Institute of India.
79% effective and easy to store
The Sinopharm vaccine is produced by the Beijing Bio-Institute of Biological Products, a subsidiary of China National Biotec Group (CNBG).
Sinopharm belongs to the type of inactivated vaccines , also called killed vaccines , that is, they contain a culture of the virus but cannot produce the disease, called SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine. Its easy storage requirements make it well suited for low-resource environments.
It is also the first vaccine to carry a vaccine vial monitor, a small label on vaccine vials that changes color as the vaccine is exposed to heat, allowing health care workers to know if it can be used. in a safe way.
The group of experts that advises the World Health Organization on vaccines, known by its acronym in English as SAGE, recommends their use for those over 18 years of age, applying two doses three to four weeks apart. The vaccine’s effectiveness in preventing symptoms and hospitalizations is estimated at 79%.
The WHO assures that the data for those over 60 years of age are “scarce”, but there is no reason to think that it would work “differently” or that it would be less effective.
“We encourage the manufacturer and national authorities to monitor safety and efficacy, especially among those over 60 years of age, for whom we have little information; people with comorbidities, who are one of the groups most at risk of dying; and of course pregnant women, for whom there is no information,” said Alejandro Cravioto, the president of the advisory group.
“When we have more information, we will review the recommendations, but for now there is no reason not to recommend it for everyone over 18,” he added.
The WHO assures that the manufacturer of Sinopharm is evaluating the number of doses it will be able to produce, but added that “it is trying to produce a very substantial quantity to help with the global response” against the pandemic.
The Organization urges the manufacturer to “participate in the COVAX initiative to contribute to the goal of a more equitable distribution of vaccines,” once the authorization requirement has been passed.
*COVAX is part of an unprecedented global effort to provide vaccines for at least 20% of the population of each participating country during 2021, to protect people most at risk of severe forms of COVID-19 and save lives. In America, 36 countries will receive vaccines through the COVAX Facility, of which 26 will do so with their own financing and ten will do so at no cost.
