A Chinese-produced polio vaccine has gained prequalification from the World Health Organization (WHO), according to China's state-owned Sinopharm Group.
This shows that, after a five-year prequalification process, WHO has given the vaccine its stamp of approval in safety and efficacy, and United Nations procuring agencies may now source it.
According to the Sinopharm Group, getting WHO prequalification is a crucial step for the vaccine to gain global recognition and patronage. This also means the vaccine can be sold on the global market.
WHO has since March 2011 permitted Chinese vaccine producers to apply for rights to distribute their products around the world and also granted its first prequalification for a Chinese-produced vaccine in 2013.
At present, the woe of polio has been decreased by 99 percent as more than 2.5 billion children have received polio vaccines since WHO began an eradication initiative for the disease in 1988.
