China is competing with the West to develop its own Covid-19 vaccine, and five are undergoing large-scale phase 3 clinical trials, according to AFP.
“The effectiveness of the Sinopharm CNBG Beijing vaccine against Covid-19 was 79.34 percent,” it said in a statement dated Dec. 30, the Sinopharm Beijing Biological Institute said.
According to the announcement, Sinopharm submitted an application to the Chinese pharmaceutical regulator for approval of the vaccine. However, China still has to work hard to build trust in the international community for its vaccines due to a lack of transparency in disclosing data on clinical trial results, according to AFP.
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More than 1 million people have received unapproved vaccines in China under the emergency vaccination program, including front-line health workers and employees of state-owned companies.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) approved the Sinopharm vaccine earlier this month, becoming the first foreign country to approve the Covid-19 vaccine developed by China.
Beijing promised to share vaccines at a reasonable cost to developed countries because China joined the COVAX program. COVAX is a program run by the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide poor countries with access to the Covid-19 vaccine.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lap Kien said on December 25, “We are committed that when China’s Covid-19 vaccines are put into use, they will become a global public good and will be provided.” to the world at reasonable and fair prices. We will prioritize the supply of vaccines to developing countries in various ways, including aid.
