By Christine Fabro
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday (June 1) listed Chinese manufacturer Sinovac Biotech’s CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine in its emergency use listing (EUL), affirming its safety and efficacy.
WHO’s independent panel of experts said in a statement that Sinovac’s vaccine is recommended for adults over 18 years old, with a second dose two to four weeks later.
CoronaVac is the second Chinese-developed vaccine to get an approval from the WHO to combat COVID-19, following Sinopharm’s listing on May 7.
In the Philippines, the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine received the Food and Drug Administration’s approval for emergency use authorization on February 22.
The Chinese-made vaccine was one of the most preferred vaccine brands of Filipinos at 39%, according to the national Social Weather Stations survey conducted from April 28 to May 2.
At the time of the survey, over seven million COVID-19 vaccines had been delivered to the country, of which five million were Sinovac.
The Philippines has received a total of 5.5 million doses of Sinovac vaccines since February, one million doses of which were donated by the Chinese government, while the rest were government-procured.
The Philippines is also expecting the delivery of 4.5 million doses of Sinovac vaccine this month.
In a media release, vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said the Philippine government welcomes the expanding list of vaccines validated by WHO for emergency use.
Sinovac vaccine has a 51% efficacy rate and uses inactivated virus technology, in which the virus is treated with heat, radiation, or chemicals to prevent it from replicating but still able to trigger an immune response.
Galvez pointed out that the inclusion of Sinovac in the WHO’s EUL is a “strong testament that the vaccines procured by the government are all safe and effective.”
“Tuloy-tuloy po ang ating pakikipag-ugnayan sa mga lokal na pamahalaan to address not only the hesitancy but also the accessibility of our senior citizens,” he added.
According to a ReliefWeb-United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs article dated June 1, “WHO’s Emergency Use Listing (EUL) is a prerequisite for COVAX Facility vaccine supply and international procurement.
“It also allows countries to expedite their own regulatory approval to import and administer COVID-19 vaccines. The EUL assesses the quality, safety, and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, as well as risk management plans and programmatic suitability, such as cold chain requirements.” – jlo
