Sinopharm, Sinovac vaccines prevent severe hospitalization from Omicron: report

CAIRO -- China's Sinopharm and Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines protect against "severe hospitalization" caused by the Omicron variant, the United Arab Emirates-based news outlet The National reported Tuesday, quoting a World Health Organization (WHO) expert as saying.

Abdi Mahamud, the WHO's incident manager for the pandemic, said that "more evidence is showing that Omicron is affecting the upper respiratory tract, causing milder symptoms than previous variants."

The UAE recently approved the emergency use of a new recombinant protein vaccine manufactured by Sinopharm, which will be used as a booster jab in the country, the report said.

The new Chinese vaccine demonstrated an improved immune capacity against the new variant, "with a high safety rate that allows rapid production and easy storage and distribution," according to the UAE's health ministry.