Zimbabwe this month received a batch of 200 000 Sinovac vaccines purchased from China, which will be used in the country’s second phase of the vaccination programme, together with the Sinopharm already in use.
What is Sinovac?
· Sinovac, also known as Coronavac, is a Covid-19 vaccine manufactured in China by the Beijing-based biopharmaceutical company, Sinovac.
· The vaccine can be stored in a standard refrigerator at 2-8 degrees Celsius.
Efficacy of Sinovac vaccine
Data from late-stage trials in Turkey and Indonesia showed that the vaccine was 91.25% and 65.3% effective respectively.
In Brazil researchers initially said it was 78% effective in their clinical trials, but in January 2021 revised that figure to 50.4% after including more data in their calculations.
Some of the countries already using Sinovac
· China
· Zimbabwe
· United Arab Emirates
· Chile
World Health Organisation (WHO)’s position on the vaccine
· A WHO expert team inspected the Sinovac production line in Beijing in February.
· WHO is yet to approve the Sinovac jab, which is currently in the last stage of clinical evaluation
· WHO spokesperson, Dr. Margaret Harris, on March 12 said the vaccine may be approved for use by the end of the month.
