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Local governments in China are placing orders for experimental coronavirus vaccines made in China. Meanwhile, health officials have not said how well they work or how many can reach the country’s 1.4 billion people.
Vaccine developers are speeding up final tests, China’s foreign minister said during a United Nations meeting last week.
More than 1 million healthcare workers and others in China who are considered to be at high risk of infection have already received experimental vaccines with permission for emergency use. The developers have not publicly discussed how effective their vaccines are. They also haven’t said if there are any side effects.
From China pharmacist The industry has at least five vaccines from four producers that are being tested in more than 12 countries, including Russia, Egypt and Mexico.
Even if those tests are successful, the vaccines probably won’t be used in the United States, Europe, Japan and other developed countries, health experts say. That’s because the approval process is too complex for Chinese vaccine manufacturers.
China said it will take steps to make sure the vaccines are priced low for developing countries. He has actively sought sales agreements around the world.
On Sunday, 1.2 million dose of the vaccine from the Chinese company Sinovac reached Indonesia, the government said.
“We are very gratefulthank goodness the vaccine is now available so we can immediately curb the spread of COVID-19 disease, “said President Joko Widodo.
Only one Chinese developer, Sinopharm, has applied for final market approval for its vaccine. He made the announcement in November. Other developers in China have approved vaccines only for emergency use in people considered high risk.
“We must be ready for large-scale production,” Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said during a visit to developers last week, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.
The government has not said how many people it plans to vaccinate. Sun said the government plans to start vaccinating high-risk populations this month.
Chinese companies are using more traditional methods in vaccine development than Western companies.
For example, the vaccine from the American company Pfizer must be kept frozen at temperatures as low as minus 70 degrees Celsius. The Chinese say that their vaccine can be stored between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius. Chinese producers have not explained what their vaccine would look like distributed.
Health experts question why China is using experimental vaccines in such large numbers now that COVID-19 is largely under control within its borders.
Chinese health officials have said the country will be able to manufacture 610 million doses by the end of this year. They said their goal is to do 1 billion doses next year.
The Jiangsu province government issued a request to buy vaccines from Sinovac and Sinopharm on Wednesday for emergency use. The great city of Nanjing is in the province.
Officials in western Sichuan province, which has about 85 million residents, announced Monday that they were already buying vaccines. They said the vaccine would cost a total of $ 60 and would be given in two shots.
In November, the Sinopharm Communist Party secretary said that nearly a million people had received his vaccine.
In September, the Sinovac director said that some 3,000 of his employees had taken the company’s vaccine. He said Sinovac provided tens of thousands of doses to the Beijing city government.
I am Susan Shand.
The Associated Press reported on this story. Susan Shand adapted it to learn English. Bryan Lynn was the editor.
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Words in this story
pharmacist – adj. of or related to the production and sale of medicines and drugs
dose – n. the amount of a medicine, drug, or vitamin taken at one time
grateful – adj. feeling or showing thanks
curb – v. control or limit something
to distribute – v. give or deliver something to people
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