30,000 doses of Chinese Sinopharm vaccine coming

Barbados has secured another batch of COVID-19 vaccines, as it plans to step up its inoculation programme.

The country is to receive a donation of 30,000 doses of China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine.

Prime Minister Mia Mottley made the announcement following her meeting on Wednesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, discussing the subject of vaccine procurement.

During the meeting, the Chinese leader agreed to donate a batch of vaccines and make available more batches for purchase.

According to Mottley, “we received a communication from the President of China, that they will donate 30,000 Sinopharm [BBIBP-CorV] vaccines to Barbados and that obviously there are more available for us for purchase”.

Efficacy data not published

The World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) hopes to issue recommendations on the Chinese Sinopharm and Sinopharm vaccines by the end of April.

Sinopharm, the Chinese state-owned vaccine maker, has not published detailed efficacy data on its jab. However, its developer, Beijing Biological Products Institute, a unit of Sinopharm subsidiary China National Biotec Group, said the vaccine was 79.34 per cent effective in preventing people from developing the disease based on interim data.

Barbados is still awaiting its shipment of the AstraZeneca vaccine from COVAX facilities, as it has been delayed repeatedly over the last few weeks.

The delay has led to a near halt of the vaccination campaign, as the Bajan government reserves about 30,000 doses from the initial 90,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine donated by India. The remaining doses are to kick off the delivery of the second dose of the jab.

Barbados has placed separate commercial orders of the vaccine outside of COVAX which are expected soon. This includes a batch from the African Union, which would have been negotiated previously.

Mottley told journalists that, “we have indicated that as soon as SAGE, which is the committee of scientific experts… can approve of Sinopharm and we have that scientific evidence, that’s going to allow us then to have our own national committee approve it.”