UAE vaccine for coronavirus: Sinopharm's jab approved

Dubai - Chinese vaccine is 86 per cent effective and is safe, says health ministry.

The UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention, Mohap, has announced the official registration of Beijing Institute of Biological Product’s inactivated Covid-19 vaccine in a major step towards combating the global pandemic.

The registration of this vaccine is a decision in response to the application from Sinopharm CNBG.

The announcement is a significant vote of confidence by the UAE’s health authorities in the safety and efficacy of this vaccine.

Mohap in collaboration with the Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DOH) have reviewed Sinopharm CNBG’s interim analysis of the phase III trials, which shows Beijing Institute of Biological Product’s inactivated vaccine to have 86 per cent efficacy against Covid-19 infection.

The analysis also shows the vaccine to have 99 per cent seroconversion rate of neutralizing antibody and 100 per cent effectiveness in preventing moderate and severe cases of the disease. Furthermore, the analysis shows no serious safety concerns.

It was in July that the Phase 3 clinical trials of the vaccine began in Abu Dhabi. Volunteers were administered the vaccine or placebo. The ratio of the test vaccines to the placebo is 2:1. Volunteers were injected with either Vaccine 1 (WIBP), Vaccine 2 (BIBP) or placebo.

Two doses of vaccine were administered in a gap of 21 days. More than 31,000 volunteers from more than 120 nationalities took the jab in just six weeks.

The trials are being managed by Abu-Dhabi based G42 Healthcare in partnership with the ministry, the Department of Health - Abu Dhabi (DoH) and Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha).

This vaccine was granted Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) since September by Mohap to protect frontline workers most at risk of Covid-19.

The UAE is conducting Post Authorisation Safety Study (PASS) and Post Authorisation Efficacy Study (PAES) of its EUA program. These ongoing studies show similar safety and efficacy profiles as the interim analysis.