China has accepted the emergency use of a Covid-19 vaccine for these as younger as three, the drugmaker confirmed Tuesday, making it the primary nation to supply jabs to younger kids.
Since the coronavirus first emerged in central China, Beijing has largely managed to carry the nation’s outbreak below management, and has administered over 777 million vaccine doses after a sluggish begin.
A spokesperson for Sinovac informed AFP its vaccine had been accepted to be used on kids.
“In latest days, the Sinovac vaccine was accepted for emergency use in three- to 17-year-olds,” the spokesperson said.
But he did not confirm when the young children would be able to start receiving the shots, saying the schedule for the rollout will be decided by the National Health Commission “according to China’s current epidemic prevention and control needs and vaccine supply”.
The firm has accomplished early section trials of the vaccine in kids and adolescents, with outcomes to be printed shortly within the Lancet scientific journal, the spokesperson added.
State broadcaster CCTV reported over the weekend that an unnamed official within the State Council’s epidemic response activity power had mentioned vaccines had been accepted for kids, and “the security and effectiveness” had been proven.
A spokesperson for China’s other major vaccine, Sinopharm, said that experts had demonstrated the effectiveness of its vaccine in children, but didn’t confirm whether it had been approved for use.
Chinese officials have said they are aiming to inoculate 70 percent of the population of 1.41 billion by the end of this year.Â
While the WHO does not currently recommend vaccinating children against coronavirus, the United States, Britain, Singapore and the European Union have approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for those as young as 12.
China reported 33 new Covid-19 cases Tuesday, including 19 in southern Guangdong province where authorities have been battling a local outbreak.
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