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DUBAI – Bahrain has begun inoculating front-line workers with a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine, state news agency BNA said Tuesday, the latest country to take the unusual step of granting emergency approval for an injection before finishing. evidence of safety and efficacy.
The program will use an injection developed by the Chinese state pharmaceutical company Sinopharm, which is in phase III trials in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain and Jordan, BNA said.
Bahrain’s Health Minister Faeqa bint Saeed Al Saleh said on Tuesday, in comments posted by BNA, that the use of the vaccine complies with the country’s regulations on exceptional licensing in emergencies.
“The results of the Phase I and II clinical trials showed that the vaccine is safe and effective,” he said, adding that the Phase III trials went smoothly and without serious side effects.
About 7,770 people have so far volunteered for phase III trials in Bahrain and received a second dose, the minister added.
The move is likely to spark debate in the scientific community about the potential risks of vaccinating people before formal efficacy and safety tests are complete, as governments struggle to control the pandemic and revive struggling economies.
“If vaccines are to be implemented before formal approval and licensing, there must be a clear appreciation of the risk / benefit ratio,” said Eleanor Riley, professor of immunology and infectious diseases at Britain’s University of Edinburgh.
Anyone vaccinated in these circumstances should be aware of the risks and monitor side effects, he said.
Russia became the first country in the world to grant regulatory approval to a coronavirus vaccine in August, launching a mass inoculation scheme after less than two months of human testing.
Bahrain’s Tuesday move comes after the United Arab Emirates in September authorized similar emergency use of the same vaccine for front-line workers at high risk of infection with the novel coronavirus.
In July, China launched its emergency use program for three experimental injections, including that of Sinopharm just as its Phase III trials began.
Abu Dhabi-based cloud computing and artificial intelligence company Group 42 (G42), which is in charge of trials in the Middle East, said last month that the vaccine had been administered to more than 31,000 people in the four countries.
Several ministers and senior officials have already received the vaccine in both the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, including the Crown Prince of Bahrain.
On Tuesday, the Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, tweeted a photo of him receiving an injection of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have maintained ties with China, seeking capital and technology to diversify their economies away from hydrocarbon revenues. However, the United States, a key ally, has warned the Gulf states to proceed with caution and consider their relationship with Washington. – Lisa Barrington / Reuters
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