The World Health Organization has added a Sinopharm vaccine to its list of approved Covid-19 jabs, boosting the credentials of the China-made dose amid doubts over its efficacy.
The emergency use listing for the shot, developed in partnership with the Beijing Institute of Biological Products, is for a two-dose regimen for all adults aged 18 and over, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s director-general.
It is the first vaccine of any kind made in China to receive emergency use authorisation from the WHO. The approval is a signal to countries that the Sinopharm vaccine is safe to use and means that the jab will be added to the WHO’s vaccine procurement programme Covax.