KUALA LUMPUR: The CoronaVac Suspension for Injection Covid-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell) Inactivated has been approved for children aged five to 11, says Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

       He announced conditional registration approval was agreed to by the Drug Control Authority (DCA) at its meeting yesterday.

       The vaccine is produced by Sinovac Life Sciences Co Ltd China and Pharmaniaga Lifescience Sdn Bhd.

       Dr Noor Hisham said this was the second Covid-19 vaccine approved for children aged five to 11 as the Comirnaty vaccine was approved for the group on Jan 6.

       “CoronaVac was earlier approved for conditional use for individuals aged 12 and above,” he said in a statement yesterday.

       Dr Noor Hisham said the meeting also agreed on conditional approval for Paxlovid and Ritonavir for use in Covid-19 treatment among adults aged 18 and above, who do not need oxygen therapy and were in high-risk of severe symptoms.

       However, he said Paxlovid was not aimed at being used as a substitute for Covid-19 vaccination.

       “The Health Ministry wishes to announce the conditional approval still requires quality, safety and efficacy information of the vaccine and the antivirus will be continuously monitored by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) based on the latest data.

       “This is to ensure the comparison of benefit over risk for the vaccine to remain positive,” he said. – Bernama