MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

WHO greenlights CanSino single-dose Covid-19 vax for emergency use

WHO's authorization means the COVAX program may now purchase and distribute CanSino vaccines

The Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) Thursday granted an emergency approval to the CONVIDECIA vaccine against COVID-19 developed by China's CanSino Biologics.

The drug thus became the third immunizer from that country to be cleared by the global entity after Sinopharm and Sinovac last year. It is also the 11th vaccine greenlighted by WHO.

“The Technical Advisory Group for the Emergency Use List, convened by WHO and comprised of regulatory experts from around the world, has determined that the vaccine meets WHO standards for protection against COVID-19 and that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks,” the statement said.

WHO also pointed out that the assessment of CONVIDECIA “was based on the review of data on quality, safety, efficacy, a risk management plan, programmatic appropriateness and a manufacturing site inspection conducted by WHO.”

CONVIDECIA, administered in a single dose, “is based on a modified human adenovirus expressing the S-spike protein of SARS-CoV-2,” the virus that causes COVID-19. The vaccine was found to be 64 percent effective against symptomatic disease and 92 percent effective against severe COVID-19, it was reported.

CONVIDECIA has also been reviewed by WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE), which formulates specific policies and recommendations for the use of vaccines in populations. The SAGE recommends the use of CONVIDECIA as a single 0.5-milliliter dose in all age groups 18 years and older. Detailed recommendations on the use of the vaccine will be published soon.

The CanSino vaccine's principle is similar to that used by Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, which are also based on different adenoviruses.

According to scientific reports, China's vaccines offered low protection against COVID-19, but mixing them with booster doses of the messenger RNA drugs improved the patient's response considerably.

WHO's authorization means the UN-backed COVAX program may now purchase and deliver CanSino vaccines. Last year, COVAX signed a deal to buy more than half a billion Chinese vaccines made by Sinopharm and Sinovac.