ISLAMABAD, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has approved China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, the National Institute of Health in Islamabad confirmed on Friday.
According to a statement released by DRAP on Thursday, the CoronaVac vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac has been given emergency use authorization for people aged 18 and above.
The statement said the authorization will be reviewed every quarter keeping in view data regarding safety, efficacy and quality of the vaccine.
It is the third Chinese COVID-19 vaccine that was approved by the country after Sinopharm and CanSino vaccines, and Pakistan kicked off its vaccination drive in early February upon receiving vaccine donation from China.
So far, Pakistan is facing the third wave of COVID-19. Pakistan has reported 710,829 confirmed cases with 15,229 deaths due to the virus, according to the data released by the country's health ministry on Friday.