China says COVID-19 vaccine could be ready for public in November

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.

Representatives of the firms said AFP who expect their vaccines to be approved after phase 3 trials by the end of the year.

And 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.”

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.

Some of China’s candidate vaccines have already been offered to essential workers under an emergency use program.

A Sinovac spokesman told AFP this month that “tens of thousands” of people had voluntarily vaccinated themselves, including 90% of its employees and their families, between 2,000 and 3,000 people.

In June, China’s military approved a vaccine for use within its ranks developed by its research unit and a biotechnology company.

Download the EWN app on your iOS or Android device.