WHO team assessing Chinese vaccines for emergency use

A World Health Organization team is in China currently working with producers of COVID-19 vaccines Sinovac and Sinopharm to assess compliance with international quality manufacturing practices ahead of potential emergency use listing by the WHO, said Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a press briefing on Monday.

Meanwhile, Tedros urged COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers from around the world to move swiftly to provide the necessary data which will allow the organization to consider them for emergency use listings.

The team is separate from the WHO mission which will arrive in China on Thursday to conduct joint scientific research with Chinese peers on the origin of the novel coronavirus, according to the WHO chief.

A number of countries, including Egypt, the UAE, Jordan and Indonesia, have authorized the COVID-19 vaccines produced by China for emergency use. And many more countries, including Brazil, Chile, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Nigeria, have ordered Chinese vaccines or are cooperating with China in procuring or rolling out the vaccines.

More than 9 million doses of homegrown coronavirus vaccine have been administered in China, the National Health Commission said on Saturday.