The United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorized emergency use of experimental coronavirus vaccines developed by a Chinese pharmaceutical company for front-line workers, reported Caixin.
The emergency approval involves two inactivated Covid-19 vaccines developed by the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm). Both are in final phase III clinical trials.
According to the UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority, 31,000 volunteers have already participated in clinical trials of the vaccines in the country, and the results have met a set of standards. No unexpected side effects have been detected so far, the agency said.
The approval made Sinopharm the first vaccine maker to deploy an experimental Covid-19 vaccine in a foreign country.