South Africa's health regulator said it has approved a Covid-19 vaccine from China's Sinopharm, although a senior health official said the government was not planning to procure doses for now.

South Africa, the country worst hit by the pandemic in Africa in terms of reported Covid-19 infections and deaths, has used the Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) shots in its vaccination campaign, after signing supply deals with the two US companies.

Drugs regulator SAHPRA said in a statement the Sinopharm approval was based on “acceptable safety, quality and efficacy data submitted by MC Pharma,” referring to a local regulatory pharmaceutical company that has partnered with Sinopharm.