.The Sinopharm vaccine will join ones made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and a version of the AstraZeneca vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India, in receiving the coveted authorization from the U.N. health agency.
“This expands the list of vaccines that COVAX can buy and gives countries confidence to expedite their own regulatory approval and to import and administer a vaccine,” Tedros said at a Geneva news conference.
Previously, a separate group advising WHO on vaccines said it was “very confident” the Sinopharm vaccine protects people ages 18-59. The group said it had a “low level of confidence” in the vaccine s efficacy for people 60 and over. Its members said they had “very low confidence” in the available data about serious side effects in that age group.
WHO panel authorises emergency use of China s Sinopharm vaccine
The World Health Organisation gave emergency use authorisation Friday to a COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by China s Sinopharm, potentially paving the way for millions of the doses to reach needy countries through a UN-backed program rolling out coronavirus vaccines.
The decision by a WHO technical advisory group, a first for a Chinese vaccine, opens the possibility that Sinopharm s offering could be included in the UN-backed COVAX program in coming weeks or months and distributed through UN children s agency UNICEF and WHO s Americas regional office.
Aside from efficacy numbers, the Chinese manufacturer has released very little public data about its two vaccines â one developed by its Beijing Institute of Biological Products and the other by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products.
The US backs waiving vaccine patents. Now what?
US President Joe Biden’s administration said Wednesday it would support the easing of patent rules on COVID-19 vaccines, potentially expanding global supplies, as a devastating wave envelops India and calls grow louder for rich countries to narrow the gap with the developing world.
Biden had promised to support such waivers as a candidate ahead of his election, but had for months agreed to keep them in place, under pressure from pharmaceutical companies, Kevin Liptak writes.
His government relented to pressure Wednesday as members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) discussed a proposal by India and South Africa from last October to waive patents for both COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. No decision was made but America’s backing could turn the tide on a WTO decision.
Credit: Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin
AUSTIN, Texas For people experiencing homelessness, missing proof of identity can be a major barrier to receiving critical services, from housing to food assistance to health care. Physical documents such as driver s licenses are highly susceptible to loss, theft or damage. However, researchers from Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin say new technology solutions such as blockchain can be used to keep important health care information secure and portable. Health care institutions and social services are so fragmented and siloed they re unable to accurately collect, share or verify basic identity information about a person experiencing homelessness, said Tim Mercer, M.D., MPH, director of the Global Health Program in the Department of Population Health at Dell Med and co-author of a new commentary published in the