The World Health Organization announced on Friday it had approved a COVID-19 vaccine from China's state-owned drugmaker Sinopharm for emergency use.
The vaccine, one of two main Chinese shots that collectively have already been given to hundreds of millions of people in China and other countries including the UAE, becomes the first COVID-19 shot developed by a non-Western country to win the WHO's backing.
It is also the first time the WHO has given emergency use approval to any Chinese vaccine for any infectious disease.
WHO today listed the Sinopharm #COVID19 vaccine for emergency use in all countries, a prerequisite for a potential #COVAX roll-out. Interim policy recommendations were also issued for the vaccine usage.
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 7, 2021
In its approval, the WHO said Sinopharm's easy storage requirements make it highly suitable for low-resource settings, boosting supply to underserved countries.
It's also the first to carry a vaccine vial monitor, a small sticker on the vaccine vials that changes color as the vaccine is exposed to heat, letting health workers know whether if it can be safely used.
A WHO emergency listing is a signal to national regulators on a product's safety and efficacy, and would allow the shot to be included in COVAX, the global programme to provide vaccines mainly for poor countries.
The WHO has previously given emergency approval to COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and, last week, Moderna.
Russia has opened a criminal case against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and put him on a wanted list, the state news agency TASS reported on Saturday, citing the Interior Ministry's database.
The death toll from rains in Brazil's southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul rose to 56, local authorities said on Saturday morning, while dozens still have not been accounted for.
Hamas has said it is sending a delegation to Cairo on Saturday to discuss a deal for a truce and the release of hostages in Gaza, hours after US CIA Director William Burns arrived in the Egyptian capital, according to Egyptian sources.
NATO's four-month long military exercises near Russia's borders, known as Steadfast Defender, are proof the alliance is preparing for a potential conflict with Russia, a spokeswoman for Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
Students at Trinity College Dublin protesting Israel's war in Gaza have built an encampment that forced the university to restrict campus access on Saturday and close the Book of Kells exhibition, one of Ireland's top tourist attractions.
Alexander Vinnik, a Russian suspected cybercrime kingpin who was arrested in Greece in 2017, convicted of money laundering in France three years later and is now awaiting trial in California, has pleaded partially guilty, TASS news agency cited his lawyer as saying on Saturday.
The Indonesian government is aiming to make use of around two million hectares of sugarcane plantation in Papua region to expedite the development of bioethanol.
China on Friday launched an uncrewed spacecraft on a nearly two-month mission to retrieve rocks and soil from the far side of the moon, the first country to make such an ambitious attempt.
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Welcome to Pinoy Bulletin, your go-to source for staying informed about important announcements, exciting group activities, community events, and job opportunities!
Welcome to Pinoy Bulletin, your go-to source for staying informed about important announcements, exciting group activities, community events, and job opportunities!