KUALA LUMPUR: The CoronaVac vaccine produced by Sinovac Life Sciences Co Ltd of China and Pharmaniaga Lifesciences Sdn Bhd has been approved for adolescents aged 12 and above, says Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

       He said the matter was agreed to at the 364th meeting of the Drug Control Authority (DCA) held yesterday.

       “However, the DCA recommends that the use of Sinovac among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, for the moment, is given priority to adolescents without comorbidities and who have allergies or are not suitable to receive the Comirnaty vaccine (by Pfizer-BioNTech).

       “This is the second Covid-19 vaccine approved for use on adolescents after a similar approval was given to the Comirnaty vaccine last June,” he said in a statement.

       Dr Noor Hisham said evaluation for the use of Sinovac among adolescents with comorbidities would continue.

       He added the vaccine was previously approved for conditional registration for use among individuals aged 18 and above. — Bernama