The photo taken on September 24, 2020 shows a staff member working during a media tour of a new factory built to produce a Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine at Sinovac, one of the Chinese companies authorized to conduct clinical trials with potential Beijing coronavirus vaccines.
Wang Zhao | AFP | Getty Images
China will first focus on vaccinating high-risk groups in the winter and spring before extending the inoculation to the general public, a senior health official said on Saturday.
Zeng Yixin, deputy minister of China’s National Health Commission (NHC) and director of the State Council’s vaccine research and development working group, warned that efforts to prevent China’s Covid-19 are under increasing pressure as temperatures drop.
“During the winter and spring seasons, conducting new coronavirus vaccination work among key population groups is of great importance for preventing the epidemic,” he said in a briefing.
China aims to actively build up group immunity, and vaccinating high-risk groups – which includes workers in the cold chain industry, customs, healthcare, markets and public transport – is just the first part of a “step-by-step program.” he added.
China has included two candidate vaccines from Sinopharm and one from Sinovac Biotech in an emergency program launched in July, targeting specific groups at high risk of infection, such as medical workers and border inspectors.
It also approved a vaccine from CanSino Biologics for military use, but did not approve any vaccine for use by the general public.
Zheng Zhongwei, NHC official leading China’s Covid-19 vaccine development team, said China had administered more than 1 million emergency doses to members of high-risk groups since July and “no reactions have been detected so far.” serious adverse ”.
“For vaccines in which we travel fairly quickly, the number of cases required for the intermediate stage of phase III clinical trials has already been obtained,” Zheng said, although he did not specify which products.
The data was submitted to the medical regulatory authority, which will approve the vaccines if they meet the necessary conditions, he added.