COVID-19 vaccine for ages 3-17 given OK'd for emergency use

China has recently approved emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Sinopharm in people aged 3 to 17, making it the third vaccine to be given the green light for use in children and teenagers, the company said on Wednesday.

The vaccine, made by an institute in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, which is administered by Sinopharm's China National Biotech Group, has shown good efficacy and safety during early stages of clinical trials, the company said.

After two doses, about 96.1 percent of trial participants had generated neutralizing antibodies against the novel coronavirus. The rate is similar to that for adults, according to biotech group. 

Most adverse events were mild and no severe adverse reactions were recorded, it added.

The vaccine, which uses an inactivated virus to trigger immune responses, was granted conditional approval by China's top drug regulator for use in people aged 18 and above on Feb 25. Phase 3 clinical trials conducted overseas have shown that the vaccine is 72.51 percent effective against symptomatic COVID-19 disease. 

Previously, two domestic vaccines, one made by another unit of CNBG located in Beijing and the other one developed by Sinovac Biotech, were given emergency use authorization for youths, authorities said in June.

The National Health Commission said last week that more than 60 million doses had been administered to people age 12 to 17 as of recently.