Coronavirus

Sinopharm files emergency use request for Covid-19 vaccine

Sinopharm emergency use request
Photo: Zoltan Tarlacz/Shutterstock

Brazil’s federal health regulator Anvisa received a request for emergency use approval from Blau Farmacêutica, which represents the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine in Brazil.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “a large multi-country phase 3 trial has shown that two doses, administered over an interval of 21 days, have an efficacy of 79 percent against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection 14 or more days after the second dose. Vaccine efficacy against hospitalization was 79 percent.”

The Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine is among those approved by the WHO for emergency use and could be included in the UN-backed COVAX initiative. 

Anvisa will now analyze the request and has 24 hours to report whether it requires any additional information. Then, it will have between seven and 30 days to issue a final decision.