Pakistan has approved the emergency use of the third Chinese vaccine, despite its low efficacy rate, as the country struggled to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) on Thursday granted Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) to CoronaVac, developed by Chinese company Sinovac Biotech, officials said on Saturday.
“This is the third Chinese vaccine allowed to be used in Pakistan,” a DRAP official said, adding that the country now has five approved COVID vaccines.
Pakistan has already granted the EUA to China’s two-dose Sinopharm and single-dose Convidecia vaccine developed by the Cansino Biologicals Inc. UK’s AstraZeneca and Russian Sputnik V vaccines have also been approved by the DRAP.