An employee shows a candidate vaccine against coronavirus from China National Biotec Group (CNBG) at the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) 2020 in Beijing, China, on Sept.5.
Photographer: Lintao Zhang / Getty Images AsiaPac
Photographer: Lintao Zhang / Getty Images AsiaPac
China said it has already administered 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 aims to be at the forefront of the global Covid-19 immunization effort.
Vaccines developed by Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and the state-owned China National Biotec Group Co., known as CNBG issued in the country since they got emergency use clearance in July.
China is now planning a wider distribution of the experimental shots to those working in hospitals, customs, public transport and cold chain logistics, as well as vulnerable groups, including those with pre-existing medical conditions, to receive them first . At a later stage in the rollout, the general public will be involved, Zeng Yixin, deputy minister at China’s National Health Commission, told reporters in Beijing on Saturday.
Zeng said colder weather with the onset of winter is challenging China’s control of the virus, which it has nearly eliminated internally with a combination of strict border controls and mass testing.
“Our goal is to establish immunity to the herd through vaccinations so that Covid-19 can be quickly and effectively controlled,” he said.
Two shots
The vaccine figure puts China well ahead of the US and UK, which only recently approved emergencies developed by drug giant Pfizer Inc. and the German BioNTech SE, which allowed them to vaccinate people in specific target groups. The United States. also has a Covid-19 vaccine from Moderna Inc. on Friday. Russia, which says it is already providing homegrown photos to its population, has vaccinated 320,000 people, according to Bloomberg data.
The 1 million figure refers to the doses administered, not the number of doses inoculated. CNBG chairman Yang Xiaoming recently said more than 650,000 people have been vaccinated with Chinese vaccines according to locals media reports. Both CNBG and Sinovac candidates follow a regimen of two shots from a first shot and then a booster.
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While Chinese officials have not disclosed how many people will be vaccinated in the next stages of the vaccination effort, Bloomberg reported on Friday that authorities plan to administer locally developed injections. as many as 50 million workers who are at high risk of exposure to the virus in early February, a significant expansion that will mobilize the local branches of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, medical clinics and hospitals to reach the ambitious goal .
Virus attacks
The rollout, which comes amid speculation that China’s drug regulator is close to signing the CNBG and Sinovac general-purpose vaccines, would be roughly the equivalent of inoculating South Korea’s entire population in less than two months, a step that country well ahead of the distribution race if it succeeds. China’s rapid implementation of coronavirus testing in recent months, with millions tested several days after cases were identified, could provide a model for how the nation of 1.4 billion people plans to approach vaccine rollout.
Plans to vaccinate 50 million people underscore Beijing’s focus on preventing a repeat of the deadly outbreak that began in Wuhan city early this year. While China has nearly eradicated local transmission of the virus and life has largely returned to normal for the vast majority of the population, a few infections have emerged in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, Xinjiang to the west, and in the past few weeks. Sichuan. , and even in the heavily guarded Chinese capital.
No serious side effects have been seen so far in those who received the Chinese vaccines, said Zheng Zhongwei, a director overseeing coronavirus vaccine development at the National Health Commission on Saturday. China will release data on the effectiveness of Chinese shots “on time,” with developers submitting ongoing updates to the drug regulator.
Less transparency
Compared to Western vaccination efforts, Very little data on the efficacy and safety of the late-stage human trials has been made public on Chinese shots. Five of the vaccine candidates are in the final stages. Phase III clinical studies are conducted on virus hotspots in Southeast Asia, South America and the Middle East.
The relative lack of transparency and information has fueled skepticism about China’s shots, which President Xi Jinping has said will be rolled out globally. The country is also part of the World Health Organization’s Covax Initiative designed to distribute vaccines to developing countries.
Chinese vaccine developers have also signed supply agreements with countries such as Indonesia, Singapore, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, who said earlier this month that the injection of CNBG showed an efficacy rate of 86% in a local clinical trial involving more than 30,000 people.
Research indicates Chinese vaccines provide protection against Covid-19 for at least six months, National Health Commission Zeng said at Saturday’s briefing. Antibodies are still being detected in people who already received injections in March, he said.
Defended approach
As the massive immunization efforts accelerate, the Chinese CDC will use its existing monitoring systems to track any serious side effects from the Covid-19 vaccines, said Wang Huaqing, the body’s chief immunization expert. China’s vaccine safety monitoring mechanisms meet WHO standards, and the hospitals and clinics that will administer the shots nationwide have the ability to identify and treat any side effects, he said.
Officials have previously said there have been no serious adverse events – diseases in people who receive a vaccine that can sometimes stop a clinical trial – among those vaccinated under the emergency program. The country has defended its broad interpretation of the emergency permit, which includes employees of state-owned companies being diverted abroad, and says the risk of Covid-19 returning through its borders remains high.
– With the help of Emma O’Brien, Claire Che and Dong Lyu
(Updates with supervisor on the number of people vaccinated in the seventh paragraph.)