An employee displays a candidate for the China National Biotec Group (CNBG) coronavirus vaccine during the China International Trade in Services (CIFTIS) 2020 in Beijing, China, on September 5th.
Photographer: Lintao Zhang / Getty Images AsiaPac
Photographer: Lintao Zhang / Getty Images AsiaPac
China says it has already given more than 1 million coronavirus vaccines since July and plans to distribute more, initially targeting workers in industries where they are at higher risk of infection as the country tries to be at the forefront of global immunization against Covid-19 effort.
The vaccines developed by Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and China National Biotec Group Co., known as CNBG, were issued in the country since the emergency use permit was granted in July.
China is now planning a wider distribution of experimental photographs with those working in hospitals, customs, public transport and cold chain logistics, as well as vulnerable groups, including people with pre-existing medical conditions, to receive them first. A later phase of the launch will involve the general public, Zeng Yixin, deputy minister of China’s National Health Commission, told reporters on Saturday.
Zeng said the colder weather, with the onset of winter, is challenging China’s control of the virus, which it has eliminated internally, with a combination of strict border controls and mass tests.
“Our goal is to establish the immunity of the herd by inoculation so that Covid-19 can be effectively controlled quickly,” he said.
Two shots
The vaccine number puts China long before the US and UK, which only recently granted emergency permits for fires developed by drug giant Pfizer Inc. and Germany BioNTech SE, allowing them to start vaccinating people in specific target groups. US also removed a Covid-19 vaccine from Moderna Inc. Friday. Russia, which says it is already supplying people with house fires, has vaccinated 320,000 people, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The figure of 1 million refers to the doses administered, not to the number of inoculated. CNBG President Yang Xiaoming recently said more than 650,000 people have been vaccinated with Chinese vaccines, according to locals. media reports. Both the CNBG and Sinovac candidates follow a regime with two blows from an initial jab and then a recall.
Follow the global vaccine launch here with Bloombergis the pursuer
While Chinese officials have not revealed how many people will be vaccinated in the next stages of the inoculation effort, Bloomberg reported on Friday that authorities intend to manage locally developed fires in up to 50 million workers considered at high risk of exposure to the virus by early February, a significant expansion that will allow local branches of the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, medical clinics and hospitals to mobilize to reach the ambitious target.
Virus flare-ups
The launch, which comes amid speculation that China’s drug regulator is close to signing CNBG and Sinovac vaccines for general use, would be roughly the equivalent of inoculating the entire South Korean population in less than two months, a move that would puts the country well ahead in the distribution race if it succeeds. China’s rapid implementation of coronavirus testing in recent months, with millions tested within days of identifying cases, may be a model for how the nation of 1.4 billion people intend to approach vaccines launched.
Vaccination plans for 50 million people highlight Beijing’s focus on preventing a repeat of the deadly outbreak that began in Wuhan earlier this year. Although China has almost eliminated local transmission of the virus and life has largely returned to normal for the vast majority of its population, a number of infections have occurred in recent weeks in Heilongjiang province in the northeast of Xinjiang in the west and in Sichuan. , and even in the heavily guarded Chinese capital.
No severe side effects have been observed among those who have received Chinese vaccines so far, Zheng Zhongwei, a director overseeing the development of the coronavirus vaccine at the National Health Commission, said on Saturday. China will reveal data on the effectiveness of Chinese photos “on time”, with developers submitting updates to the drug regulator.
Less transparency
Compared to Western vaccination efforts, very little data on efficacy and safety in late human studies have been made public in Chinese photographs. Five of the vaccine candidates are in the final stage, with phase III clinical trials being conducted at virus hot spots in Southeast Asia, South America and the Middle East.
The relative lack of transparency and information has fueled skepticism about China’s shootings, which President Xi Jinping said will be launched globally. The country is also part of the Covax World Health Organization initiative, designed to distribute vaccines to developing countries.
Chinese vaccine developers have also entered into supply agreements with countries such as Indonesia, Singapore, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, which said earlier this month that CNBG’s shot showed an 86% efficacy rate in a clinical trial. local of over 30,000 people.
Research indicates that China’s vaccines provide protection against Covid-19 for at least six months, Zeng, the National Health Commission, said in Saturday’s briefing. Antibodies continue to be detected in people who have been shot since March, he said.
Defensive approach
With the massive immunization effort turning into equipment, China’s CDC will use its existing monitoring systems to keep track of the serious side effects of Covid-19 vaccines, said Wang Huaqing, the body’s lead immunization expert. China’s vaccine safety monitoring mechanisms meet WHO standards, and hospitals and clinics that will administer the vaccines nationwide have the ability to identify and treat any side effects, he said.
Officials have said earlier that there were no serious adverse events – diseases in people receiving a vaccine that can sometimes stop a clinical trial – among those inoculated under the emergency use program. The country has defended its broad interpretation of the emergency permit, which includes workers at state-owned overseas companies, saying the risk of Covid-19 returning across borders remains high.
– With the assistance of Emma O’Brien, Claire Che and Dong Lyu
(Updates to the Director on the number of vaccinated in the seventh paragraph.)