Bahrain has approved the immediate use of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Sinopharm.
Government officials have launched an online registration program open to all citizens and residents.
The country's National Health Regulatory Authority issued a statement Sunday it had approved the use of one of Sinopharm's vaccine candidates. The agency did not specify which of the two vaccines being developed by the company is going to be rolled out.
The regulator said that phase 3 clinical trials of the vaccine candidate showed that the treatment was 86% effective against the virus. The data published by the regulator was the same announced by the United Arab Emirates earlier in the month.
The UAE's vaccine candidate, developed by Sinopharm's China National Biotec Group, underwent late-stage clinical trials in July. Last week, the country announced an interim analysis of the trials was conclusive and that the vaccine was found to be effective in treating the disease.
Bahrain said that the country had participated in the trials and it had approved the use of the vaccine for front-line professionals ahead of the general public. Starting this week, all citizens and residents above 18-years old will be eligible to receive the vaccine for free.
Bahrain's approval of Sinopharm's vaccine comes after Peru announced that it has suspended trials for the treatment due to "serious adverse events." Peruvian health officials said that one of the volunteers of the study had experienced issues. The country's Health Ministry said that it has already launched an investigation to determine if the issues were being caused by the vaccine or if there was another explanation.
"The decision to temporarily suspend clinical trials is a safety measure contemplated in the regulations for clinical trials and protocols established to protect the health of research subjects," Peru's Health Ministry said.
Chief researcher at the local Cayetano Heredia University, German Malaga, said that one of the volunteers in the study experienced symptoms such as loss of leg strength, prompting then to temporarily halt the clinical trials.
