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About 20,000 people live in Rome. Chino, they are located in a compact place next to Termini central station, in the Esquilin district. This part of the Italian capital is also called “Ciudad Cina” by the locals. Walking through the streets of Esquilin gives the impression that it is no longer Rome, but the corner of Beijing or Shanghai: restaurants, cafes, clothes, footwear, home goods stores, everything is Chinese, mostly Chinese.
In Rome it has been rumored for several weeks that a mysterious Chinese vaccine against the Covid-19 virus is available here in Shearing. A journalist from Delfi knelt via Emanuele Filiberto Chinese shops on the street and asked in a low voice: “Sorry, maybe you know where to get vaccine? It’s called CoronaVac. I’ll pay for whatever you need … “
The responses were surprising. No provider has said that they have not heard anything like a rodent vaccine. He didn’t say a firm “no, I don’t know.” When the Chinese heard the question about the vaccine, they smiled mysteriously. An Italian who worked in a cafeteria next door explained: “There is a lot of interest in vaccines here. But after the Carabinieri visited the neighborhood on the same topic, they all fell silent. Just pretend not to hear the question. “
Is the wave of fakes coming?
A few days ago reports appeared in the Italian media about the packaging of the vaccine, which was discovered on the black market and seized by the anti-counterfeiting carabiner unit NAB, of the Chinese manufacturers Sinopharm, Sinovac Biotherm. The vaccine did not contain: physiological fluid with impurities of unknown origin.
Vaccine for COVID-19
According to Antonio Magi, president of the Roman Medical Association, smuggled vaccines could have a double effect on health: “At best, the effects on the body will be zero. At worst, it could hurt. “However, not only are counterfeits dangerous, but original vaccines should also be avoided for the time being:” The clinical trial is not complete, vaccine prototypes have not completed third phase and are being tested in three Chinese provinces. Brazil has suspended the tests. “
Where can I get Chinese vaccines? Marcello Minenna, director of the Italian Customs Agency, says that the penetration of vaccines both in Italy and in Europe, if any, is minimal. “Still, there is a risk that these pharmaceutical counterfeits will enter the black market – that is why we have increased controls on ships arriving from China and other Southeast Asian countries flying cargo planes.”
The illegal vaccine trade is also dangerous from a legal point of view: both sellers and buyers expect huge fines and legal liabilities.
Is Sinopharm better than Phizer?
There are several rumors in Italy about the prices of Chinese vaccines. Extremely high prices can be found on the black market and dark web accounts, they go up to 1000 euros, but there are buyers for them.
The economic news portal Qui Finanza writes that the official price of two injections from China National Pharmaceutical Group – Sinopharm is fixed – 330 euros. However, there are other versions that vaccination campaigns in Southeast Asia will be free for many populations.
Some Italian politicians, such as Matteo Salvini, leader of the populist Lega Nord, have expressed the view that the Chinese have no moral right to trade in an antibiotic vaccine: “China has infected us with the coronavirus and then forced us to! pay for the vaccine! ” Opinions: Western companies such as AstraZeneca, Phizer, Moderna TX will try to make significant profits from the sale of their drugs, while China cares for ordinary people, making their vaccines more affordable.
Matteo salvini
Well, and finally, the strangest idea spread on Italian social media: Since the coronavirus originated or was likely artificially created in China, Chinese pharmacists have a better understanding of the genetic nature of COVID-19. Conclusion? Chinese preparations will not only be cheaper, but also more effective than Western ones.
Proponents of similar hypotheses are pleased to cite a review by the prestigious medical journal The Lancet on the Chinese CoronaVac that, after two doses with a 14-day break, the drug elicits a sufficiently effective immune antibody response in the first four weeks. after immunization.
Chinese Italian Secret: Not Sick
After walking through the Chinquilla Chinatown in Rome, the Delfi journalist did not notice any clearer signs of the crisis: Asian food restaurants, catering establishments and food production stores are thriving. Their services are also used by local Italians without any fear. “We are watching them: they are not sick, they are not infected with coronavirus. Or almost sick. Or at least it gets infected less often than we do, so I go to have lunch every day instead of going to an Italian pizzeria, but to a Chinese food restaurant, ”explained a respectable Roman resident.
Similar things are observed in the city of Prato in Tuscany. This center of the textile industry is home to the most abundant Chinese community in the country. According to official data, 26 thousand people live here. immigrants from China, but who did not declare their place of residence for various reasons, much more.
The Chinese
A popular talk show on Berlusconi’s television retention channel Rete 4 sent a film crew to Prata and tried to explain the subject of vaccines. Most of the Chinese spoken to on the show escaped a direct response, but one businessman made it clear: “Yes, a lot of us went to China, got vaccinated and went back to Italy. The two-dose course costs 80 euros. “
The Prato Municipal Health Service, ASL, claims to have heard nothing about vaccination cases in China. However, when asked how many members of the Chinese community fell ill with COVID-19 and ended up in local treatment facilities, he clarified: about a hundred. In just nine months of the 26,000 Chinese since the pandemic began, only 100 have fallen ill! That’s less than half of the patients who check in daily in the city’s population of 200,000.
How did these Italian Chinese manage to defend themselves against the insidious virus with an almost sterile barrier? Florence daily La Nazione tried to speak to Chinese consulate staff, but diplomats gave a rather elegant and unconvincing explanation: Chinese citizens in the pandemic-hit Italian city were extremely disciplined about quarantine, social distance, and other security protocol rules, and very few were infected.
To date, there is no specific knowledge about a possible covert community vaccination campaign and its impact. The Chinese vaccine remains a mystical chimera in Europe.
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