A Peruvian health worker is preparing a syringe to inoculate a volunteer with the Sinopharm vaccine on December 9th.
Photographer: Ernesto Benavides / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Ernesto Benavides / AFP / Getty Images
State-backed vaccine developer China National Biotec Group Co. stated that one of his photos is effective in preventing Covid-19 in 79.3% of people, allowing him to apply for marketing authorization for inoculation for use in the general population.
Provisional data show that the vaccine, which is already authorized for emergency use in China, is safe and the people who took the photos generated all high levels of antibodies, according to a statement published on the website of Beijing Biological Products Institute Co., a subsidiary of Sinopharm, CNBG parent.
The vaccine rate – one of two developed by CNBG – meets the minimum efficiency standard of 50% set by US regulators for emergency authorization of Covid vaccines. However, vaccines that use state – of – the – art RNA messenger technology Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. produced much better results, reducing symptomatic cases of Covid by well over 90% in giant studies.
The rate announced on Wednesday for CNBG shooting is also lower than that reported in vaccine studies in the United Arab Emirates, which raised the level of protection to 86%.
CNBG, which filed an application with Chinese vaccine regulators last month, could become the first developer outside Russia to see its photos made available to the general public, underlining China’s determination to be a major player in providing vaccinations to countries around the world . Other countries have agreed to compete with Western vaccines only for emergency use.
China is fighting to make the world trust its vaccines
However, China faces a challenge in assuring governments and the millions of people who may have to rely on its vaccines for their safety and effectiveness. Chinese developers have been slow compared to their Western counterparts in communicating data, risking an erosion of confidence in these candidates, as the world focuses on the laser that vaccines are most successful in fighting the pandemic.
The lack of transparency was evident last week, according to studies for a vaccine by Chinese developer Sinovac Biotech Ltd. confusing results on how effective it is in protecting people against Covid-19.
A Brazilian official said the Sinovac shooting did not reach 90% effectiveness, while Turkey said a trial in its country showed a rate of 91%. Sinovac is still reconciling the results of independent phase III studies in Brazil, Turkey, Indonesia and Chile, a person familiar with the studies said last week.
Both Sinopharm and Sinovac are betting on successful vaccines to inoculate more people around the world and save lives. Chinese vaccines could also help their home country gain geopolitical influence and restore a tarnished image of criticism of its initial response to the virus.
The global promise
China has agreed to supply its vaccines to Covax, a World Health Organization-sponsored effort to provide vaccinations to developing nations. Chinese vaccines have the advantage of easier storage and distribution because they do not have to be frozen – unlike those from Pfizer and Moderna. They can be stored at normal refrigerator temperatures, facilitating distribution to rural areas and developing countries.
A state-owned drug maker with a dominant share of China’s vaccine market, CNBG in April was among the first in the world to push experimental photos into the crucial final stage of human testing. The company’s research institutes developed two photographs using an inactivated version of the virus to stimulate the immune response, an approach widely adopted by many of the existing vaccines used to prevent disease around the world.
CNBG has concluded vaccine supply agreements with several developing countries, including Malaysia, Brazil, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, according to public reports compiled by Bloomberg. Renowned Western developers such as AstraZeneca Plc and Pfizer have entered into agreements with many more countries.
Over 5.1 million photos given: Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker
Despite the fact that China’s vaccines have not yet received regulatory approval for widespread use, hundreds of thousands of Chinese people have already been given in an emergency use program in place since mid-year. This has raised concerns among scientists about the potential risks in using fires whose safety and effectiveness have not yet been carefully studied.
About one million Chinese have already been vaccinated since December 19, much of the more than 5.1 million fires so far worldwide, according to data collected by Bloomberg.
– With the assistance of Emma O’Brien and Claire Che
(Add background to other Chinese photos starting with the fifth paragraph)