Covid-19 | Sinopharm recognition from EU is just a ‘matter of time,’ health authorities say

The recognition of vaccination certificates for individuals inoculated with Sinopharm’s inactivated virus vaccine should be just a matter of time, Tai Wa Hou, medical director of the Conde de São Januário Hospital coordinator of the Health Bureau’s Covid-19 Vaccination Operation, said on Monday during the local health authorities’ Covid-19 press briefing.
Questioned on the topic by the media, Tai said, “The WHO [World Health Organization] already recognizes the Sinopharm vaccine. I believe that one-by-one, the [different] countries will also recognize it.”
The official added that while the vaccine is being used not only within China but in a wide range of countries all over the world, the results from studies conducted on it are also known, having been certified by the medical community and published in international research journals.
Tai was asked about the fact that the Sinopharm vaccine is the vaccine which has been administered in the majority of inoculations in Macau, and effect of this, given the recent exclusion of Sinopharm by the European Union (EU) for the establishment of the so-called EU vaccination passport that will allow vaccinated individuals to move freely through the EU countries without having to fulfil the Covid-19 test requirements.
In mid-June, the EU announced it had completed the legislative procedures for the establishment of the EU Covid-19 vaccine passport.
At that time, the presidents of the three main EU institutions, the Parliament, the Commission, and the Council, co-signed a law aiming to restore freedom of movement within the EU for those vaccinated with one of the vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
For the time being, the only four vaccines recognized are the BioNTech/Pfizer, Moderna, Vaxzevria (formerly known as AstraZeneca), and Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
A total of 13 countries are already issuing the passports ahead of the date established for the official launch this tomorrow, July 1.
Not included in the list of eligible vaccines are currently the CVnCoV (CureVac), NVX-CoV2373 (Novavax), Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac), and the Sinopharm Covid-19 (Vero Cell) Inactivated.
According to EMA, these four vaccines are currently undergoing review, and there is no clear timeframe as to when a final conclusion will be announced.