China has approved the emergency use of the Sinovac Biotech vaccine for ages 3 to 17. China has so far administered 723.5 million doses and will allow vaccination of persons over 18 years of age.
Preliminary results from Phase I and II clinical trials showed that the vaccine elicits an immune response in people aged 3-17 years, and that most of the side effects were mild. Sinopharm, which has developed a two-dose vaccine of a technology similar to Sinovac, requires emergency approval in young age groups.
