Asian Tech Press (Oct 1) -- Australia's drug regulator announced Friday that China's Sinovac vaccine is a "recognised vaccine".

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia's drug watchdog, released on Friday a preliminary assessment on the protection offered by Coronavac, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd (SVA: NASDAQ GS), and Covishield, an Indian-made vaccine developed by the Serum Institute of India in collaboration with AstraZeneca plc, and recommended that the two vaccines be considered as "recognised vaccines".

As reported, people who have received a "recognised vaccine" will be able to enter Australia more easily.

However, a press release issued by the Prime Minister's office states that the declaration of a COVID-19 vaccine as a "recognised vaccine" is separate from the regulatory decision on whether it is approved for use for vaccination in Australia.

To date, the TGA has not approved either of the two "recognised vaccines" for administration within Australia. And vaccines currently approved by the TGA for use in Australia include the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (Comirnaty), the AstraZeneca vaccine (Vaxzevria), the Moderna vaccine (Spikevax) and Janssen-Cilag Pty Ltd's COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen.

Australia plans to open its international borders in November, and currently nearly 80% of its population has received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, with 55% having received two doses.