South Africa’s health regulator authorizes Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine

The South African health regulator has reportedly approved Sinopharm, a COVID-19 vaccination from China. A senior health executive claimed that the government doesn’t plan to acquire vaccine doses for now.

South Africa, which has been hit the hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of infections and deaths, has deployed the Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccines in its vaccination campaign after negotiating supply agreements with the two American pharmaceutical corporations.

However, due to an overstock of vaccines, the government postponed certain vaccination distribution programs scheduled late last year, as uncertainty slowed the uptake.

According to SAHPRA, the vaccine was approved on the basis of accepted safety, quality, and efficacy evidence given by MC Pharma, which is a local regulatory pharmaceutical business that has collaborated with Sinopharm.

The vaccine has been approved for those aged 18 and above, subject to certain restrictions, including that it has to be given in accordance with the national vaccination schedule and that periodic safety updates are provided.

Nicholas Crisp, Deputy Director-General of the health department stated that they would not be purchasing the vaccines as of now, since plenty of stock is available in stores.

For those unaware, the World Health Organization (WHO) approved a Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in May. Clinical trials revealed that it was less effective against symptomatic disease than the Pfizer-developed injection.

In December, the WHO urged that persons who had received an inactivated COVID-19 vaccination, made by Sinopharm, Sinovac Biotech, and Bharat Biotech in India, have a booster dose to counter fading immunity.

Inactivated vaccinations work by using chemicals, heat, or radiation to inactivate or destroy the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is worth mentioning here that around 42% of South Africa's adult population which is around 40 million people has been fully vaccinated so far.

 

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/south-african-regulator-approves-sinopharm-covid-vaccine/ar-AATy3nm?ocid=bingcovid