China on Thursday approved a coronavirus vaccine developed by state-owned drugmaker Sinopharm, a day after the company reported the shot was 79.3 percent effective in protecting people from the virus, paving the way for millions of Chinese vaccines to enter the global market.
Officials granted conditional authorization for public use of the two-shot vaccine from China National Biotec Group (CNBG), a subsidiary of Sinopharm, an official with China’s National Medical Products Administration said at a media briefing.
The vaccine is the first approved for general use in China, which has largely brought the pandemic under control since the virus emerged there in late 2019. Sinopharm has another vaccine in late-stage trials.
Even before regulatory approval, its vaccines had already been used on almost 1 million Chinese citizens by November under an emergency use program for high-risk groups.
On Wednesday, CNBG reported results based on interim analysis from Phase 3 trials.
