Feb 6, 2021 - Health

China approves Sinovac vaccine, its second shot for general public use

Oriana González

Picture of a nurse preparing a Sinovac vaccine — A nurse prepares a Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine in China. Photo: VCG/VCG via Getty Images

China's health regulator has approved the two-shot coronavirus vaccine developed by domestic drugmaker Sinovac Biotech Ltd. for general public use.

Why it matters: Sinovac's CoronaVac is the second vaccine to receive authorization in the country. State-owned pharmaceutical company Sinopharm produced the first vaccine to receive approval in China last December.

The big picture: The conditional approval means that the vaccine can be administered to the public, but more research is needed to ensure the benefits outweigh any adverse effects, per AP.

The vaccine received emergency approval last summer for health workers to be inoculated.
Health officials hope to inoculate 50 million people before Chinese New Year on Feb. 11, Bloomberg reports.
The Sinovac vaccine has been sold to at least 10 other countries and is already being distributed in at least five nations, AP says.

Worth noting: Sinovac has faced criticism "due to a lack of transparency around clinical trial data," The Wall Street Journal writes.

Several phase 3 trials in Brazil, Turkey and Indonesia have shown efficacy rates between 50.38% to 91.25%, per Bloomberg.

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China approves Sinovac vaccine, its second shot for general public use

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