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World Health Organisation Given Emergency Use Listing To China’s Sinopharm Vaccine, Making It Sixth Vaccine To Receive Validation.

The World Health Organisation Has Given An Emergency Use Listing To Sinopharm Vaccine, China’s Covid-19 Vaccine, Making It The Sixth Vaccine To Receive Validation. “WHO urges governments to offer incentives to manufacturers to share technology and know-how. And we encourage countries with the most vaccines to donate doses through COVAX, which is the fastest and most equitable way to increase the distribution of vaccines globally,” said director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a tweet.

The approval will be a welcome relief for Middle East travellers and European economies alike, say experts, as the European Union prepares to potentially ease restrictions on non-essential travel from overseas. Previously the EU had approved four vaccines, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca and Janssen/Johnson & Johnson while the Sinopharm vaccine has been readily used in the UAE, Bahrain and other Middle East countries.

The EU only permits non-essential travel from seven countries, although new plans being discussed will see anyone who has received both doses of an EU-approved vaccine at least two weeks beforehand, being allowed to travel. The UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) officially registered the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine in December. In March a joint venture was announced between Sinopharm and Abu Dhabi-based G42, which promised up to 200 million doses of the vaccine to be produced annually at a new plant in the Middle East, which is expected to become operational this year.

This news was originally published at Hotelier Middle East.