COFEPRIS Authorized Sinopharm Vaccine for Emergency Use

The Federal Commission for the Protection Against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) authorized the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine Sinopharm for emergency use.

Following COFEPRIS’s decision, Sinopharm became the ninth COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency use in Mexico, joining those of Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, CanSino Biologics, Sputnik V, Sinovac, Covaxin, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna. However, the Mexican sanitary authority clarified that its authorization does not mean that it will be used in the country.

“As a National Regulatory Authority of reference (ARNr), qualified by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), COFEPRIS decisions are recognized by other countries in the region, therefore not al vaccines approved for emergency use are used in national territory,” said COFEPRIS. The council added: “After integrating the opinion of the CMN (the New Molecules Committee), the request for authorization for emergency use was presented to the Sanitary Authorization Commission, where specialized personnel analyzed the files, certifying that the vaccine complies with the quality, safety and efficacy requirements necessary to be applied.”

Sinopharm’s shot, also known as Vero-Cell, was developed by the Beijing Bio-Institute of Biological Products and uses an inactive virus, which “works by teaching the immune system to make antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The antibodies attach to viral proteins, such as the so-called spike proteins that stud its surface.”

This vaccine requires two shots on a 21-day span and has a 79 percent effectiveness against symptomatic infections, said WHO, which approved it for emergency use back on May 10.

Vaccination in Mexico

Vaccination in Mexico continues moving forward. Over 83 million doses have been applied, with 32.3 million people fully vaccinated, which represents 25.3 percent of the total population, according to Our World in Data. The vaccination campaign for over-18s started in August in Mexico City, with thousands of young people showing up for their shots.

Mexico is one of the countries with the most authorized vaccines. Earlier this month, the country called on the G20 to accept the COVID-19 vaccines already approved by WHO and avoid using them in geopolitics schemes, said Marcelo Ebrard, Foreign Minister of Mexico, reported MBN. “There is an agreement with most of the countries of the G20 to accept all the vaccines authorized by WHO, avoid doing geopolitics with the vaccines. If the Organization recognizes and authorizes a vaccine, every country in the world should do it too, not some of them and some not for other reasons,” he said.