China Agreed Using 2nd Domestic Vaccine Against Covid-19

The China’s Sinovac Biotech firm announced on Saturday, that drug authorities have given “conditional” approval for a second COVID-19 vaccine and it has been formally approved for use by the general public, according to CTV News report.

This conditional approval helps speed-up emergency supply of drugs to market in cases where clinical trials are yet to meet normal standards but indicate therapies will work.

Moreover, the firm reported that the approval comes after multiple domestic and overseas trials of the vaccine in countries including Brazil and Turkey, although “efficacy and safety results need to be further confirmed.

Also, its trials in Brazil had shown around 50% efficacy in preventing infection and 80% efficacy in preventing cases requiring medical intervention.

In contrast, the firm on December announced its vaccine had a 79.34% efficacy rate, lower than rival jabs developed in the West by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna with 95 and 94% rates, respectively.

As China ramps up its vaccine campaign, authorities have repeatedly assured the public of the jab's safety and efficacy, despite not releasing any detailed clinical trial data.

Noteworthy,China has been racing to develop homegrown jabs and aims to vaccinate 50 million people before the start of the Lunar New Year in mid-February.