May 8, 2021 – 11:25 KYODO NEWS

GENEWA – The World Health Organization approved on Friday a COVID-19 vaccine developed by China’s state-owned pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm, paving the way for Beijing to extend further assistance to hard-hit developing countries.

It is the first time the WHO has green-lit a coronavirus vaccine developed in a country outside the West. The vaccine has already been administered in China and elsewhere.

The approval of the Sinopharm vaccine comes as developing nations are struggling to secure vaccine supplies. The vaccine, which Sinopharm says has a 79 percent efficacy rate, is recommended for those aged 18 and older.

China, where the virus was first detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019, has been active in its “vaccine diplomacy” push, providing its coronavirus vaccines to other Asian countries and African nations, among other areas.

With backing from the U.N. health agency, the Sinopharm vaccine could now be included in a U.N.-backed COVAX facility, an international vaccine distribution platform set up to ensure equitable access to shots for developing countries.

Cr. KYODO NEWS