Covid-19: Sinovac vaccine gets conditional approval for those aged 12 and above

PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry has announced that the CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccine from Chinese manufacturer Sinovac has been given conditional approval for those aged 12 and above.

In a statement the Health Ministry said the use of CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccine from Sinovac Life Sciences Co. Ltd., China and Pharmaniaga Lifesciences Sdn Bhd, Malaysia, was approved in a Drug Control Authority meeting on Friday (Oct 1).

"The meeting agreed to grant conditional approval for the use of the CoronaVac vaccine produced to those aged 12 years and above.

"CoronaVac has previously approved conditional registration for individuals aged 18 years and above. This is the second Covid-19 vaccine approved for use in adolescents after the same approval was given in June 2021 for the Cominarty vaccine manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech," it said.

The DCA, however, recommends that the use of the vaccine is prioritised for adolescents aged 12 to 17 without comorbidities and those who have allergies and are not suitable to receive the Cominarty vaccine.

"Evaluation for the use of CoronaVac in adolescents with comorbidities will continue once sufficient data are acquired.

"The Health Ministry would like to inform that the approval of this conditional registration requires information on the quality, safety and effectiveness of the vaccine product to be monitored and evaluated based on latest data from time to time," the ministry added.