Africa hails WHO approval of Sinovac vaccines

Africa welcomed the World Health Organization's approval of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, hoping it will mean more vaccines for the continent.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his gratification while addressing Parliament on Wednesday that the WHO has given its approval of Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, hoping this will mean more vaccines for the people in his country and millions of others across Africa.

"We welcome the news that the World Health Organization has validated the Sinovac from China COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. The go-ahead by WHO is a crucial step that should move Africa's regulatory authorities to look into purchasing Sinovac," Ramaphosa said.

He said his government is continuing to engage with various manufacturers to ensure a reliable and diverse supply of vaccines.

With over 1.6 million cases and 56,601 fatalities, around 1,045,104 people in South Africa have so far received jabs. They are mainly the elderly, who mostly have not yet received a second jab, and healthcare workers. Most are using the Pfizer and Johnson& Johnson vaccines.

Efficacy results of the Sinovac vaccine showed it prevented symptomatic disease in 51 percent of those vaccinated and prevented severe COVID-19 and hospitalization in 100 percent of the population. The easy storage requirements of CoronaVac make it suitable for low-resource settings, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The shot is a boon for people in underdeveloped countries.

Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said 31 million COVID-19 doses have been administered in African countries and 7 million Africans have received two doses. She added that sub-Saharan Africa is at an average of one dose per 100 people, compared to a global average of 26, and 62 per 100 in high-income countries.

"The gap between vaccinations globally and on the African continent is increasing, despite the best efforts of African countries, because of vaccine inequity. This is a great concern for us, and it was strongly expressed by many ministers of health during the just passed World Health Assembly, which is the global meeting of all the world's ministers of health. They emphasized the need for immediate sharing of doses and for longer-term expansion and diversification of production capacities," Moeti said.

Agencies and Xinhua contributed to this story.