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Riyadh: Bahrain approved the registration of the Sinopharm Group Co Ltd. coronavirus vaccine, about a week after the United Arab Emirates registered the Chinese-made vaccine.
“Results from Phase III clinical trials showed an 86% efficacy rate, 99% seroconversion rate of neutralizing antibodies, and 100% effectiveness in preventing moderate and severe cases of Covid-19,” he said the National Health Regulatory Authority in a statement Sunday. The Bahrain findings are based on data from more than 42,000 volunteers.
The Gulf nation had previously authorized the emergency use of the vaccine, which was provided to front-line workers in contact with coronavirus patients.
The vaccine has already been administered to hundreds of thousands of people with emergency clearance in China, but has yet to receive public use approval from any drug regulator.
In Latin America, Peru temporarily suspended vaccine trials after an unspecified “adverse event” was reported during a clinical trial. The health minister is investigating the event to determine if it is related to the vaccine or something else.
China Vaccine Website
Countries like Indonesia and Pakistan have already signed agreements with Sinopharm’s China National Biotec Group Co. and others are likely to follow now, as it may have an easier distribution process than other vaccines.
CNBG said it expects to produce 1 billion doses of the vaccine next year, the Global Times reported.
The UAE registered the Sinopharm vaccine after discovering that it had an 86% efficacy rate, paving the way for full public use and allowing a reopening of the country’s economy.
Egypt also plans to start the inoculation process against Covid-19 after receiving the first shipments of the Sinopharm vaccine. Bloomberg
Read also: With a positivity rate of 5% or less, Mumbai could finally emerge from the Covid nightmare
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