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BEIJING (Sept. 25): The World Health Organization gave China its support and understanding to begin administering experimental coronavirus vaccines to people while clinical trials were still ongoing, a Chinese health official said on Friday.
China launched its emergency program in July, after communicating with the WHO in late June, according to Zheng Zhongwei, an official with the National Health Commission.
The vaccine has been administered to hundreds of thousands of essential workers and other limited groups of people considered to be at high risk for infection, although its efficacy and safety had not been fully established as phase 3 clinical trials were incomplete.
“At the end of June, the State Council of China approved a plan of the emergency use program for the Covid-19 vaccine,” Zheng told a press conference.
“After approval, on June 29, we contacted the relevant representatives of the WHO China Office and obtained the support and understanding of the WHO,” Zheng said.
The WHO representative in China did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said in Geneva this month that national regulatory authorities could approve the use of medical products within their own jurisdictions in the current emergency situation, but described it as a “temporary solution.”
The long-term solution was to complete the phase 3 trials, the WHO official said.
Beijing has not released all the details of its emergency use program.
At least three vaccination candidates, including two developed by the state-backed China National Biotec Group (CNBG) and one from Sinovac Biotech, all in Phase 3 trials abroad, are included in the emergency use program.
A fourth experimental vaccine developed by CanSino Biologics was approved for use in the Chinese military in June.
China’s annual production capacity of Covid-19 vaccines is expected to reach 610 million doses by the end of 2020 and 1 billion doses by 2021, Zheng said.
In China, the price of the vaccine will be affordable for the general public, Zheng added.
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