(Trinidad Guardian) The Minister of Health is responding to the statements made by the UNC Member of Parliament Dr. Roodal Moonilal, on the Sinopharm Beijing COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr Terrence Deyalsingh said Moonilal’s statements were baseless and not grounded in science or fact.
“The fact is the COVID-19 Sinopharm Beijing vaccine has undergone a rigorous World Health Organization (WHO) vaccine assessment, which included on-site inspections of the production facility prior to the WHO official approval of the Sinopharm Beijing vaccine for the Emergency Use Listing Procedure (EUL) on May 7…” said Deyalsingh in a statement yesterday.
Following the disclosure on Friday that the Sinopharm vaccine would be coming to Trinidad and Tobago, Moonial said that the could should be cautious about becoming part of a “guinea pig” programme involving use of a drug that only has emergency licence approval.
But Deyalsingh said the WHO Assessment was the same review process used for Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, which all currently have EUL approval.
“The fact is MP Moonilal also received the same AstraZeneca vaccine which has EUL approval. The Sinopharm Beijing vaccine has been authorized for use in 45 countries/jurisdictions and over 65 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine have been administered through various emergency use programmes.”
The Emergency Use Listing (EUL) is a risk-based procedure for assessing and listing vaccines, with the ultimate aim of expediting the availability of these products to people affected by a public health emergency, he said.
He said WHO has confirmed the Sinopharm Beijing vaccine as having a very good safety and efficacy profile.
“On the basis of all available evidence, the Sinopharm vaccine efficacy is estimated at 78.1% for all age groups 18 years and over”.
“ The erroneous comments made by MP Moonilal that Trinidad and Tobago will be used as guinea pigs only reinforces the MP’s deliberate attempts to derail the country’s vaccination drive and reinforces the continuous adverse position by the Opposition, led by Kamla Persad Bissesar, to anything positive for the people of Trinidad and Tobago.”
Deyalsingh said all vaccines procured on behalf of the people of Trinidad and Tobago are selected based on the robust standards of the WHO and absolutely no COVID-19 vaccine will be administered without WHO approval.
“To date, all COVID-19 vaccines administered in Trinidad and Tobago have received Emergency Use License (EUL) under the WHO” he said.
