An employee member works during a media tour of a new factory built to make the COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at Sinowak, one of 11 Chinese companies approved for clinical trials of potential coronavirus vaccines in Beijing on September 24, 2020. Credit – Wang Zhao – AFP / Getty Images
Li Shurui does not hesitate. Returning to university in the UK, the 22-year-old business student, risking being caught indefinitely or catching COVID-19, decided to get into his sleeve and get the experimental coronavirus vaccine.
Two injections of coronac (otherwise known as Beijing Caxing Bioproducts) made by Sinowak cost 2,000 RMB ($ 300) at a private Taihe hospital in the Chinese capital. Treatment has not yet undergone final (phase 3) clinical trials, but is already being offered in public on a first-come, first-served basis. Anyone can turn around, pay their money and get Jab. Lee says hundreds like him were queuing for vaccinations.
“I’m a little worried about the side effects but more concerned about catching a foreign virus,” Lee tells Time. “But I haven’t had any problems with the jobs so far.”
It is not the only coronavak vaccine on offer fur in China. The unofficial vaccine rollout is rapidly accumulating despite warnings from international public health experts. In September, state-owned Sinofarm announced that hundreds of thousands of Chinese had already received its experimental COVID-19 vaccine as part of a state initiative to protect frontline health workers and officials traveling to health-hazardous countries. This week at Yiwu’s Eastern Manufacturing Hub, hundreds of people lined up for ના 60 worth of Coronavac.
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“This is insane,” says Adam Kamarad-Scott, an associate professor of global health care at the University of Sydney, about China’s Gung-Ho vaccine rollout. “It’s just a healthy health practice. We have previous examples where vaccines that have not undergone adequate medical tests have shown adverse reactions with long-term health results. “
As the coronavirus epidemic approaches its 11th month, with more than 40 million cases and 1.1 million deaths globally, the longing for a miraculous cure becomes even more daunting. But the consequences of missing a vaccine can also be dire. In 1976, a campaign to immunize millions of Americans against swine flu resulted in the development of a small amount of chronic fatigue syndrome and helped spark the modern anti-virus movement. Issuing a pre-approved vaccine without adequate monitoring of the effectiveness and health of the participants risks public misinformation.
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What’s more, because there are fewer Covid-19 cases in China, Stage 3 trials – when thousands of vaccines are given to see how many infections it takes, compared to volunteers receiving placebo, can only be conducted abroad. There have also been no “challenge” trials where scientists will immunize vaccinated volunteers to test for immunity. (Despite controversy, such a trial is set to proceed in the UK)
But it is not just China that is moving forward. US President Donald Trump has put a lot of pressure on regulators and pharmaceutical companies to make vaccines available in a timely manner for the US election. On October 16, Pfizer announced that it could begin bringing its vaccine to the US for emergency use by the end of November. Moderna has a similar timeline for emergency use, although care is taken not to distribute the vaccine until spring.
However, the difference in China is that the virus is contained in large quantities domestically. Only 14 cases were reported in the country on Wednesday, all imported. Student Li says, “It seems that there is no need for vaccination in China. “After all, the epidemic has had little effect on Chinese life now; Masks are no longer mandatory here. “
So why is China aggressively shifting vaccines? For the Beijing government, the fight against the epidemic has become a PR war to drown out international criticism over its initial mishandling, coverup and silencing of whistle blowers. Instead, China sees itself as an important PPE. Wants to present as a source of no and ultimately it brings a solution to the crisis. The National Health Authority of China estimates that by the end of 2020, China’s COVID-19 vaccine production capacity will reach 610 million doses annually.
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Sinowak has promised to give Indonesia 40 million coronal doses by March 2021. Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria said Brazil’s federal government had also agreed to buy 46 million doses of Coronac, one of at least five vaccines under phase 3 trials in the country, the third most infected in the world.
“The first results of a clinical study conducted in Brazil prove that Coronavac is the safest of all vaccines tested in the country, with the best and most promising rates,” Doria told reporters on Monday.
Of course, China is not alone in looking for PR benefits. On August 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine, which he said had already been given to his daughter. The post-groundbreaking trade name of the Soviet satellite – Sputnik, is no doubt the national pride wrapped up in its development. But it was tested on only 76 people – 38 in the first phase and 38 in the second phase – and it didn’t even enter the phrase 3 test. The vaccine has not stopped COVID-19 from reaching record levels in the country this month.
“My gut reaction is that this is China’s attempt to claim international prestige by entering the first of a comprehensive vaccination program,” says Kamarad-Scott, an Australian global health expert. “Unfortunately, I’m playing politics here instead of public health.”
Retrieved 22 Oct.
The original version of this story incorrectly states that Beijing Caxing Bioproducts and Synovac are separate companies. They are the same.
