There is an unexpected opportunity for Russian and Chinese vaccines



[ad_1]

The coronavirus vaccines from Russia and China could play an important role in making the vaccine available to everyone in the world and strengthening the prestige of the two countries, but to do so would have to dispel the ambiguity that still surrounds the two formulations. .

Western science has created three coronavirus vaccines, the Pfizer / BioNTech and Oxford University / AstraZeneca pairs, and the Moderna vaccine. Meanwhile, China and Russia also came up with their own vaccines and immediately began selling abroad with great momentum. For example, Chinese products are vaccinated free of charge for residents of the United Arab Emirates, including those living abroad. This means that the impact of the vaccines of China and Russia extends beyond the borders of the two countries, and even the countries associated with them, writes the Financial Times in its article that reviews the vaccine map.

Richer countries have signed supply contracts with Western producers, compromising much of their capacity, so Chinese and Russian preparations could play an important role in supplying poorer emerging countries. Many of them essentially have no choice but to get what they need from these sources. Therefore, it would be very good if the Chinese and Russian manufacturers could make the information about their preparations transparent.

Great opportunity

In addition to supplying vaccines to their own populations, China and Russia can show the world what their science can do. It is no coincidence that the Russian vaccine was named Sputnik V, in reference to the Soviet success story of the Cold War. With generous offers of foreign vaccines, China may forget that in the early stages of the epidemic, hidden information allowed the invisible spread of the virus. In addition, China has joined the UN’s Covax program, which aims to provide the world’s poor with the coronavirus vaccine.

Business opportunities aren’t bad either. Chinese manufacturers produce a fifth of the world’s vaccine needs. With this huge population being used almost entirely by the country, the coronation is a good opportunity for Chinese manufacturers to establish themselves among the world’s global suppliers. In this spirit, Beijing offers loans to developing countries to buy its products. (More corona vaccines are expected to appear on the market.)

Painful deficiency

So there is a painful lack of transparency in the case of Western products. The three Western vaccines were only approved by British, EU and US surveillance after their third phase – mass testing – was completed. On the contrary, the background of Chinese and Russian products is not very transparent. According to UAE authorities, the Sinopharm vaccine they received was tested on 31,000 people in the third phase and is 86 percent effective. However, this was not corroborated by any more detailed disclosure.

The third testing phase of Sputik V was not completed until December, while mass vaccinations had already started earlier this month. Meanwhile, due to the unusually rapid development of coronavirus vaccines, even the strictest authorization procedures are more uncertain than usual. This also contributes to skepticism about vaccination around the world, which is reinforced by the opaque and vague communication of Chinese and Russian information. The result could be a dual system in which people in the poorest parts of the world may receive or at least suspect a lower quality vaccine.



[ad_2]