China has given conditional approval for the first general use of a locally made Covid-19 vaccine, paving the way for distribution of the jab at home and abroad.
Chen Shifei, deputy commissioner of China’s National Medical Products Administration, said the regulator had agreed to the public release of a vaccine developed by the Sinopharm, a state-owned pharmaceutical company. The approval was announced a day after Sinopharm said the drug had achieved a 79 per cent efficacy rate in late stage clinical trials.
“The known and potential benefits of the (vaccine) outweigh the known and potential risks,” said Mr Chen. “It has fully met the requirements for conditional launch.”