An employee answers questions from the public near samples of a Covid-19 vaccine produced by CNBG, a subsidiary of Sinopharm, during a trade fair in Beijing on September 6, 2020 (AP Photo / Ng Han Guan).
The world still lacks a proven coronavirus vaccine, but that hasn’t stopped Chinese officials from trying to inoculate tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people outside of the traditional testing process.
- New York Times
- Last update: September 27, 2020 5:51 PM IST
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First, the workers of the state companies were dosed. Then government officials and vaccine company personnel. Next: teachers, supermarket employees and people who travel to risk areas abroad.
The world still lacks a proven coronavirus vaccine, but that hasn’t stopped Chinese officials from trying to inoculate tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people outside of the traditional testing process. Three candidate vaccines are being injected into workers that the government considers essential, along with many others, including employees of the pharmaceutical companies themselves.
Officials are drawing up plans to give vaccines to more people, citing emergency use, which amounts to a big gamble that the vaccines will eventually prove safe and effective.
China’s rush has puzzled world experts. No other country has injected people with untested vaccines outside of the usual drug testing process on such a large scale. The candidate vaccines are in phase 3 trials, or the last stages of testing, most of which are conducted outside of China. People in these trials are closely followed and monitored. It is not clear that China is taking those steps for everyone who is receiving the vaccines within the country.
Unproven vaccines could have harmful side effects. Ineffective vaccines can create a false sense of security and encourage behavior that could lead to even more infections.
The widespread use of vaccines also poses consent issues, especially for employees of Chinese vaccine manufacturers and state-owned companies who may feel pressured to roll up their sleeves. The companies have asked people who take the vaccines to sign a nondisclosure agreement that prevents them from talking about it with the media.
“My concern for company employees is that it may be difficult for them to refuse,” said Dr. Kim Mulholland, a pediatrician at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia, who has been involved in overseeing many vaccine trials. .
It’s unclear how many people in China have received coronavirus vaccines. Sinopharm, a Chinese state company with a vaccine candidate in late-stage trials, has said hundreds of thousands of people have received its injections. Sinovac, a Beijing-based company, said more than 10,000 people in Beijing had been injected with its vaccine.
Sui-Lee Wee c. 2020 The New York Times Company
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