SINOVAC GETS WHO EMERGENCY APPROVAL

Subject: Science & tech

Context: Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has approved China’s Sinovac Covid vaccine for emergency use.

Concept:

About Sinovac Vaccine

It is an inactivated vaccine.
It works by using killed viral particles to expose the body’s immune system to the virus without risking a serious disease response.
The Beijing-based biopharmaceutical company Sinovac is behind the CoronaVac.
It is the second Chinese vaccine to receive the green light from the WHO, after Sinopharm.
It is a more traditional method of vaccine that is successfully used in many well-known vaccines like rabies.
One of Sinovac’s main advantages is that it can be stored in a standard refrigerator at 2-8 degrees Celsius.
It implies that Sinovac is a lot more useful to developing countries which might not be able to store large amounts of vaccine at low temperatures.
The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization recommends the vaccine for use in adults 18 years and older, in a two-dose schedule with a spacing of two to four weeks.