The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved the emergency use of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine on Friday.
WHO has said that similar approvals for China’s Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines are expected in the coming days and weeks.
Many countries without their own advanced medical regulatory and assessment offices rely on the WHO listing to decide whether to use vaccines. UN children’s agency UNICEF also uses the listing to deploy vaccines in an emergency like the pandemic.
The announcement, however, wasn’t likely to have an immediate impact on supplies of Moderna’s vaccine for the developing world. The company struck supply agreements with many rich countries, which will have already received millions of doses.
