China plans to approve its first foreign vaccine Covid-19 before July, according to people familiar with the issue, as pressure grows from national scientists and the foreign business community to expand beyond its own list of photos of of the country.
Chinese officials have analyzed data from clinical trials for the coronavirus vaccine produced by German company BioNTech SE and expect the internal distribution of the fire to be ignited in the next 10 weeks, say people who are aware of these discussions. Some of the people were told about the timeline during a private discussion with government and health officials. The others were government officials briefed on internal discussions.
Most shooting manufacturers in China cite data from studies showing that their vaccines are almost 100% effective in preventing Covid-19 infections severe enough to require hospitalization when fully administered. But some Chinese public health experts, including the head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, have pushed for the introduction of Western vaccines to better prevent milder infections.
Foreign companies are keen to add Western vaccines to facilitate travel abroad, where foreign photos are more accepted, according to Ker Gibbs, president of the US Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. The chamber has asked the government to approve the BioNTech vaccine, which is produced and distributed by Pfizer Inc. in most parts of the world since December, he said.
BioNTech agreed in December to work with Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. to deliver 100 million doses to China in 2021, pending approval.