It cited an interim analysis of late-stage clinical trials.
The positive data comes soon after last month’s upbeat
results from Western rivals, such as Pfizer Inc, Moderna, AstraZeneca Plc and
from Russia.
However, neither the UAE nor Sinopharm has released detailed
data from the pivotal study.
In July, the Gulf Arab state started Phase III clinical
trials of the vaccine, developed by Beijing Institute of Biological Product, a
unit of Sinopharm’s China National Biotec Group (CNBG).
In September, it authorised emergency use of the vaccine for
certain groups, the first such international clearance for a vaccine developed
in China.
The analysis also shows “99% seroconversion rate of
neutralizing antibody and 100% effectiveness in preventing moderate and severe
cases of the disease”, the ministry said in a statement carried by the state
news agency.
“The analysis shows no serious safety concerns,” it said.
It also said it had officially registered the vaccine,
without elaborating, and that 31,000 volunteers across 125 nationalities
participated in the UAE trial.
It did not say what, if any, side effects it identified, how
many participants have become ill or how many volunteers were given the vaccine
or a placebo.
CNBG could not be immediately reached for comment.
The vaccine, which uses an inactivated virus unable to
replicate human cells to trigger immune responses, requires two doses, past
trial data has showed.
The UAE trial is a partnership between CNBG, Abu Dhabi-based
artificial intelligence company Group 42 (G42) and the Abu Dhabi Department of
Health.
Sinopharm and G42 have also expanded the trial to Egypt,
Jordan and Bahrain.
Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s capital, this week said it was seeking
volunteers to take part in clinical trials of Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine, known
as Sputnik V.
The UAE, with a population of around 9 million, has recorded
178,837 infections and 596 deaths from the disease.
The vaccine is among the three most advanced candidates from
China in terms of development and has been used to vaccinate around one million
people in the country under its emergency use programme.