Chinese vaccines Sinopharm and CoronaVac (Sinovac) are in the final stage of evaluation by the Emergency Use Listing of the World Health Organization (WHO) and a "final decision" should be made between April 26 and May 3, a WHO official said in a press conference on Friday.

"We have convened the technical advisory group for a vaccine assessment for the 26th of April," said Rogerio Pinto de Sa Gaspar, director of regulation and prequalification, adding that "at least one of the two" could be evaluated on that date.

The Emergency Use Listing, WHO's internal procedure to assess unlicensed vaccines, is necessary for vaccines to be used under the COVAX Facility, a WHO-led initiative aimed at providing more equitable access to vaccines for low and middle-income countries.