UAE okays 86% effective Sinopharm vaccine for mass jabs in nation

An experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by China’s Sinopharm — currently undergoing clinical trials in the UAE — has 86% efficacy against the virus, the emirates’ health ministry said Wednesday.

Developed by Beijing Institute of Biological Product, a unit of Sinopharm’s China National Biotec Group (CNBG), the vaccine was approved in the Gulf state for emergency immunisation of select groups, including the at-risk frontline workers.

The analysis also shows “100% effectiveness in preventing moderate and severe cases of the disease”, the ministry said in a statement carried by the state news agency.

“The analysis shows no serious safety concerns,” it said.

The ministry has officially registered the vaccine on 31,000 volunteers across 125 nationalities that participated in the UAE trial.

The vaccine, which uses an inactivated virus unable to replicate human cells to trigger immune responses, requires two doses, as per the study’s data.

The UAE trial is a partnership between Sinopharm’s CNBG, Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence company Group 42 (G42) and the Abu Dhabi Department of Health.

Sinopharm and G42 have also expanded the trial to Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain.

Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s capital, this week said it was seeking volunteers to take part in clinical trials of Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine, known as Sputnik V.

The UAE, with a population of around 9 million, has recorded 178,837 infections and 596 deaths from the disease.

[Sourced from Agencies]