Chinese vaccine another possible candidate says drugs head

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 13 - The Chinese anti-COVID vaccine is another possible candidate for use in Europe and Italy after the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca jabs, the head of the Italian drugs agency said Wednesday.
    "It is likely that the Sinovac vaccine will be subjected to a European assessment," said Nicola Magrini, director general of the Italian Drugs Agency (AIFA).
    He said it "could become another candidate" for use once it passes tests "with the necessary rigour.
    "If it does," said Magrini, "it would be an interesting mechanism for both China and Europe.
    "It means that walls and barriers are falling, and that research and production are really global as already occurs for antibiotics.
    "And so I welcome this competition".
    Magrini said Sinovac could "soon" be subjected to an evaluation by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
    Sinovac is currently in Phase III trials in Brazil, Chile, Indonesia and Turkey.
    In Brazil, it was found to be just 50.4 percent effective at preventing symptomatic infections of COVID-19 in a a trial, researchers said on Tuesday, barely enough for regulatory approval and well below the rate announced last week.
    Italy has just started using the Moderna vaccine, after starting with hundreds of thousands of Pfizer-BioNTech jabs and becoming Europe's top country for vaccinations.
    The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is set to be approved by EMA shprtly. (ANSA).