Chile okays Sinovac jabs use

SANTIAGO, Chile (AFP) — Chile on Wednesday became the latest country to give emergency approval to China’s CoronaVac vaccine as it battles the coronavirus epidemic which has claimed more than 17,500 lives in the country to date.

CoronaVac was developed by China’s Sinovac firm and has been approved for emergency use in Brazil, China, Indonesia and Turkey.

Chile joined the small club on Wednesday when its ISP public health institute gave the go-ahead. The country hopes to receive 10 million doses of the vaccine, adding to the Pfizer/Biontech jab that it has already started distributing.

ISP director Heriberto Garcia told reporters Wednesday the approval was given after trials showed CoronaVac was safe and 78 percent effective in preventing infection if given in two doses to people aged between 18 and 60.

Earlier this month, Brazil said its own tests had shown CoronaVac to be 50 percent effective.