Govt clears Chinese Covid vaccine
Sinovac vaccine. Photo Courtesy
What you need to know:
Uganda had received a donation of 300,000 doses of Sinovac from China at the end of last month, Mr Abiaz Rwamwiri, the NDA spokesperson, on Thursday said the vaccines could not be released to the public before being cleared
The National Drug Authority (NDA) has cleared Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine for distribution after the Beijing-based pharmaceutical company provided information conforming to Uganda’s national drug regulatory requirements.
Although Uganda had received a donation of 300,000 doses of Sinovac from China at the end of last month, Mr Abiaz Rwamwiri, the NDA spokesperson, on Thursday said the vaccines could not be released to the public before being cleared.
“When Sinovac was donated and imported into Uganda, the information we required of them had not been supplied. Therefore, the National Medical Stores (NMS) couldn’t release the vaccine to public,” Mr Rwamwiri said.
The development clears the air on several reports that the Sinovac vaccine had not been approved for use in the country.
Earlier reports from some Ministry of Health officials had indicated that the Sinovac vaccine would be used after the roll out of AstraZeneca vaccine to avoid a mix up.
Asked when the distribution of Sinovac will kick off, Mr Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the Health ministry spokesperson, said government is working out a distribution plan.
NDA said all vaccines to be used in the country must have undergone approval by WHO under the organisation’s emergency use listing (EUL) procedure.
EUL was developed by WHO to expedite the availability of medical products, including vaccines, medicines and diagnostics needed in public health emergency use. “For Covid-19 vaccines, NDA operates under the collaborative relationship that exists with the WHO through which data on the safety, efficacy and quality, which formed the basis of the EUL approval, is accessed and reviewed independently by NDA,” the drug authority said in a statement.
Mr Rwamwiri said: “Covid-19 vaccines in use are based on new technology (RNA or DNA platforms, viral vectors) and have been developed over a relatively short time, meaning there is limited safety and efficacy data to enable full assessment and granting of registration. This is why the shorter EUL assessment is in place to enable access to these products....”
