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Original title: Asian countries are vaccinating new crown vaccine one after another: India and Japan list vaccination schedule, South Korea announces vaccine procurement plan
[环球时报记者孙鹏 宇扬 胡博峰]While Western countries started mass vaccination of the new corona vaccine, Asian countries are also taking action. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) quoted an anonymous Indian government health official on the 18th and reported that India is expected to vaccinate people with the new crown from January next year, aiming to cover 300 million people in early August next year. At the same time, Japan and South Korea have also started buying vaccines.
The BBC stated that the first group of people to be vaccinated in India were police, soldiers, municipal workers and front-line medical personnel. Some candidate vaccines may obtain an emergency use authorization from the drug regulatory authority in the coming weeks. Currently, the Indian government is in contact with many local and foreign vaccine manufacturers. The new corona vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India and the British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, and the vaccine developed by the Bharat Biotechnology Company of India in cooperation with the Medical Research Council of India have submitted an emergency use authorization application to the government. In response to adverse reactions from volunteers who have undergone vaccine testing, the Government of India stated that it will respond to potential side effects during the large-scale vaccination process in a “transparent and professional manner”. According to the “Times of India” report, the Indian Ministry of Health said on the 17th that vaccination was “completely voluntary”, but it is recommended that those who decide to vaccinate complete the entire vaccination process to obtain a better immune response regardless of what have been infected with the new crown before. The vaccine can reportedly be injected in two stages, 28 days apart. As of the 18th, the cumulative number of confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in India exceeded 9.97 million.
Since the 18th, Japan, with a total of almost 200,000 confirmed cases, is also reviewing the purchase of vaccines. According to a Yomiuri Shimbun report on the 18th, the US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said on the same day that it had applied to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to use the new corona vaccine in Japan. Pfizer requires the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to adopt a “special approval” to shorten the approval period. In Japan, the approval time for general drugs is about a year, but the Japanese government added a new coronary pneumonia to the list of diseases for which “exceptional approval” can be used in May this year. Under the purchase agreement previously reached, the Japanese government plans to purchase 60 million copies of Pfizer’s new corona vaccine by June next year. Japan’s NHK TV website stated on the 18th that Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has issued instructions to various localities to begin vaccinating doctors with the new crown vaccine at the end of February 2021, vaccinating the elderly in late March and others will start vaccinating after April. And ensure the supply of vaccines. In addition to Pfizer, Japan has also entered into purchase agreements with AstraZeneca and Modena. The total amount of vaccine purchases in Japan is approximately 290 million doses.
According to Yonhap News Agency on the 18th, the South Korean government also announced the crown’s new vaccine procurement plan that day. The South Korean government will reportedly endeavor to sign a new crown vaccine procurement agreement with US drug makers Yang Sen and Pfizer within this month, and will sign an agreement with Modena in January next year. . He also plans to sign AstraZeneca before the February-March import date of next year. vaccine.
Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post quoted people familiar with the matter as saying on the 18th that China plans to vaccinate 50 million people against the new crown before the peak travel period for the Spring Festival. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on the same day that it is recommended to consult the relevant authorities. .
