BEIJING (AP) – China will soon begin coronavirus vaccinations for health, transport and border control workers, a senior official said on Saturday.
Vice Minister of the National Health Commission Zeng Yixin provided some details, but said the government gives priority to those most at risk of catching the virus.
Logistics and market workers selling fresh meat and seafood would also be placed on the list of those receiving vaccines, along with the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions.
China says it has largely contained the spread of the virus domestically, announcing only three new cases of local infection on Saturday, two in the capital Beijing and one in the northeastern province of Liaoning.
Vaccines produced by Chinese companies are awaiting approval in Turkey, Indonesia and Brazil, as manufacturers continue to test vaccines in more than a dozen countries, including Russia, Egypt and Mexico. Bahrain has become the second country in the world to approve a COVID-19 vaccine made in China, joining the United Arab Emirates.
The UAE announced last week that the vaccine was 86% effective, marking the first publication of information on the effectiveness of the shot.
Chinese companies have not yet provided information on the results of their phase 3 tests. One of the top companies, Sinopharm, has not responded to several comments for comments on its previous announcement of effectiveness.
Chinese companies have previously published phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trial data for their vaccines through peer-reviewed academic journals.
Even before the final approval of the market, more than one million people received vaccines in a program, critics say it was not transparent in terms of safety, efficacy or scientific merit. China formally granted emergency approval to candidates Sinovac and Sinopharm in July. A third company, CanSino, administered the vaccine to Chinese military personnel.
Those who received the shooting included front-line medical workers, border personnel, but also workers from state-owned companies who had to travel abroad.
In recent months, local governments have also started buying vaccines for emergency vaccinations.
Health officials have previously said that China will be able to produce 610 million doses by the end of this year and increase to 1 billion doses next year.
Sinopharm and Sinovac shot are based on a tested technology, using a virus killed to administer the vaccine, similar to the way immunizations are made against polio.
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Associated Press reporter Huizhong Wu of Taipei, Taiwan, contributed to the report.