China has approved the emergency use of a Covid-19 vaccine for those as young as three, the drugmaker Sinovac confirmed, making it the first country to offer jabs to young children.

A spokesperson for Sinovac told AFP its vaccine had been approved for use on children. “In recent days, the Sinovac vaccine was approved for emergency use in three- to 17-year-olds,” the spokesperson said.

But he did not confirm when the young children would be able to start receiving the shots, saying the schedule for the rollout will be decided by the National Health Commission “according to China's current epidemic prevention and control needs and vaccine supply”.

Since the coronavirus first emerged in central China, Beijing has mostly managed to bring the country's outbreak under control, and has administered over 777 million vaccine doses after a sluggish start.