The technical scientific committee set up by Caretaker Minister of Public Health, Dr. Hamad Hassan, approved, on Monday, the registration of vaccines provided by the private sector, and consequently issued an Emergency Use Authorization EUA for the Chinese Coronavirus vaccine SINOPHARM.

This came during a committee meeting chaired by Minister Hassan this afternoon at the Ministry of Public Health and attended by the members of the committee, doctors Abdul Rahman Al-Bizri, Maroun Zogby, Roni Al-Zaini, Thuraya Damiati,  Dr. Nazih Abu Shaheen the representative of the Lebanese University, and Dr. Colette Reidi the head of the pharmacy department in the Ministry of Public Health.

By granting SINOPHARM emergency use authorization, it is now available to be marketed as per applicable conditions.

Earlier today, the Chinese ambassador to Lebanon, Wang Kejian tweeted today that China had decided to provide 50,000 doses  of “Sinopharma” vaccine, after a request from the Lebanese government.

In a following tweet, the Chinese ambassador said that the third phase of the clinical trial has ran smoothly. He added that data from various clinical trials have shown that “Sinopharma” is safe and effective.

The director of Rafic Hariri Governmental Hospital, Firas Abiad commented via twitter on the Chinese ambassador tweet saying that “Getting the largest number of high-risk people vaccinated is the shortest way out of the Coronavirus crisis, and we need all the help possible in this matter”.