China’s Sinopharm reports coronavirus vaccine is 79 percent effective

State-owned drugmaker Sinopharm said China’s coronavirus vaccine is 79.34 percent effective, according to a new report. 

Results from preliminary phase 3 trials for the country’s vaccine show patients who were administered the drug developed high levels of antibodies able to fight off the virus, CNN reported, citing a statement published Wednesday from the Beijing Biological Products Institute.

The country has already immunized more than 1 million people as part of early clinical trials for its state-developed vaccine, Chinese health officials estimate. 

Last week, public health officials signaled optimism that China’s coronavirus vaccine would be approved by regulators. The United Arab Emirates had previously estimated Sinopharm’s vaccine was more than 85 percent effective in fighting off the virus and became the first country to approve it for use on Dec. 10.  

Sinopharm in its Wednesday statement said it was confident its vaccine has met the standards of the World Health Organization’s regulator, CNN reported. 

Two vaccines have been approved for usage in the United States, one made by Pfizer and another from Moderna. Both of those come with an effectiveness rate of more than 90 percent.

On Wednesday, a vaccine from Oxford University and AstraZeneca was approved for emergency use in the United Kingdom.