ISLAMABAD: Amid the current third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has approved China's Sinovac vaccine against coronavirus for emergency application, the National Institute of Health in Islamabad announced.

According to a statement released by the  Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, the “CoronaVac” developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac has been given emergency use authorization for people aged 18 and above, according to reports by Xinhua.

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 to be approved by the country after Sinopharm and CanSino vaccines.

Pakistan kicked off its vaccination drive in early February upon receiving vaccine donations from China. Meantime, Pakistan has reported 710,829 confirmed cases with 15,229 deaths.

Country wise Corona Updates: Nations with a death toll of over 50,000 are India (167,642), the UK (127,284), Italy (113,579), Russia (100,554), France (98,202), Germany (78,165), Spain (76,328), Colombia (65,283), Iran (64,039), Poland (57,427), Argentina (57,350), Peru (54,285) and South Africa (53,226).

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