[ad_1]
BEIJING – A coronavirus vaccine developed in China could be ready for the public in November, a Chinese official told state television, as the global race to clear the final round of trials intensifies.
Chinese manufacturers have been optimistic about the development, and companies Sinovac Biotech and Sinopharm even showcased their vaccine candidates at a trade fair in Beijing this month.
READ: Why stopping the COVID-19 vaccine trial is part of the process
Representatives of the companies told AFP that they expect their vaccines to be approved after phase 3 trials by the end of the year.
On Monday night, the top biosecurity expert at the Chinese Center for Disease Control told state broadcaster CCTV that a vaccine would be available to the general public “around November or December.”
READ: Questions about ‘inconsistencies’ from Russia’s vaccine study
Wu Guizhen did not specify which vaccine he was referring to, but said that “based on clinical results from phase 3, current progress is very fluid.”
Wu added that she had been vaccinated in April and has been feeling fine for the past few months, although she did not specify which candidate she had chosen.
Currently, there are nine candidate vaccines in late-stage human trials, although some have encountered recent roadblocks: Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford momentarily halted clinical trials last week after a volunteer developed an unexplained illness.
