The World Health Organisation has granted emergency approval for the Chinese-manufactured Covid-19 vaccine, Sinopharm. 

Sinopharm is the sixth vaccine to be approved by the WHO and is also the first non-Western developed vaccine to get the organisation’s backing.

WHO today listed the Sinopharm #COVID19 vaccine for emergency use in all countries, a prerequisite for a potential #COVAX roll-out. Interim policy recommendations were also issued for the vaccine usage.

👉 https://t.co/wuvNptP1LV pic.twitter.com/hm6TlpLJSy

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 7, 2021

Up until today, the WHO had approved vaccines produced by AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna and the single-dose Johnson & Johnson. 

Sinopharm is approved for emergency use and offers a two-dose regimen for all adults aged 18 and over. The pharmaceutical company is the dominant producer of vaccines for China’s domestic market and is already being administered in poorer countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

The vaccine can now be used in the global Covax programme, which aims to provide an estimated two billion vaccines to developing countries.

Meanwhile, Malta has raced ahead in its vaccination programme, with at least 52.81% of the population having received at least one jab. Earlier this week, the single-dose Johnson & Johnson was rolled out with an estimated 10,000 jabs provided from three consignments. 

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