People receive COVID-19 vaccines at a temporary vaccination site in Nan'an district of Chongqing, Southwest China, March 27, 2021. (Photo/Xinhua)
WHO's approval would expand use, though false claims fuel hesitancy in U.S.
The World Health Organization will soon decide whether to give emergency approval for China's two main COVID-19 vaccines, WHO Assistant Director-General Mariangela Batista Galvao Simao has said.
Simao told a news conference in Geneva on Monday that the agency could decide on a vaccine made by Sinopharm by the end of this week, and one made by Sinovac Biotech by the end of next week.
China has already deployed millions of doses of both vaccines at home and has exported them to many countries, particularly in Latin America, Asia and Africa.
An emergency listing from the WHO is an indication to national regulators of a shot's safety and efficacy, and would allow the Chinese vaccines to be included in COVAX, the global program to provide vaccines mainly for poor countries.
If approved, the Chinese vaccines would be the first from a non-Western country to gain approval from the global health body. So far the WHO has given emergency approval to vaccines from the Pfizer-BioNTech partnership, Astra-Zeneca and Johnson & Johnson. It is also expected to review Moderna's shot this week.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Tuesday received the second dose of the Sinopharm vaccine in Doljevac and expressed gratitude to China and the Chinese people for "enormous support and help".
After taking the jab at the health station in the village of Pukovac, Vucic invited all people to follow his example and further speed up the immunization campaign.
"We are very grateful to China and the Chinese people for enormous support and help, for the vast quantity of vaccines that we received," Vucic said.
On Wednesday, legal proceedings by the European Commission against AstraZeneca over vaccine supplies began at the Brussels Court of First Instance. The commission has accused the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker of failing to fulfill its contract for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines, and for not having a "reliable" plan to ensure timely deliveries.
In the worst-hit country, vaccinations have made good progress. The United States has so far administered more than 232 million vaccine doses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, enough for more than half of all adults in the U.S. to have gotten at least one shot.
