(Yicai Global) June 2 -- The World Health Organization approved Sinovac Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use yesterday, making it the second such Chinese shot the global health body has greenlighted after a coronavirus jab developed by Sinopharm.

The Beijing-based company applied for emergency use authorization in October when it submitted data on clinical trials and safety, after testing the product in Brazil and Indonesia.

The pharma giant had supplied more than 600 million doses of the inactivated Covid-10 vaccine to nearly 40 countries and regions as of May 31, it told Yicai Global. Meanwhile, more than 430 million doses have been administered globally, according to incomplete statistics. 

The shot is the most widely supplied on China's list of inactivated, adenovirus vector, and recombinant protein vaccines against Covid-19. One in every two Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country is from Sinovac, spokesperson Liu Peicheng said. On May 31 alone, the company supplied more than 36.8 million doses to global clients, Liu added.

The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare has recently started reviewing the jab, which is the first step for Sinovac to obtain a permit to sell the product in the European Union. 

A WHO team inspected Sinovac‘s Covid-19 vaccine production base in February. On April 29, an advisory group within the organization recommended its use, concluding that the benefits outweighed the known risks.

Sinovac is also hiking output. The company reportedly expanded its production capacity in April to be able to make more than 2 billion doses each year to address the global vaccine shortage.

Editor: Emmi Laine