No severe adverse effects reported in 60,000 recipients, science official says No recipient of China's COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency use
has reported severe adverse effects, and no vaccine recipient who went
to work in countries where the pandemic is still ongoing has been
infected, officials said on Tuesday. China currently has 13 vaccine candidates in clinical trials, of
which three inactivated vaccines and one adenovirus vector vaccine are
in phase three trials overseas, said Tian Baoguo, deputy head of the
Department of Science and Technology for Social Development of the
Ministry of Science and Technology. About 60,000 volunteers have been inoculated with the four vaccine
candidates currently in phase three trials, Tian said at a news briefing
held by the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State
Council. No severe adverse reaction has been reported among them, and
preliminary results show that these vaccines are generally safe and only
have minor side effects such as pain and bruising at the injection
site, as well as temporary low-grade fever, he added. Liu Jingzhen, chairman of China National Pharmaceutical Group Co, or
Sinopharm, said third-stage clinical trials of two inactivated vaccine
candidates developed by the company are being conducted in 10 foreign
countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Argentina, Egypt
and Peru. "The current feedback is very satisfactory and we have received wide
recognition from the international community," Liu said, adding that
there are now dozens of countries asking for the company's vaccines. Zheng Zhongwei, head of China's COVID-19 vaccine development task
force, said the nation's annual COVID-19 vaccine production capacity
could reach 610 million doses this year and it will expand further next
year. Liu said his company would achieve an annual production capacity
of 1 billion doses next year. When asked about the emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate in
China, Zheng said China is currently facing great pressure from small
clusters of outbreaks domestically and from imported cases. As a result, it is a necessary measure to approve COVID-19 vaccines
for emergency use in high-risk demographics, such as front-line medical
personnel, border staff, people traveling overseas to work and essential
workers, he said. "China's vaccine emergency use authorization process is strictly
governed and conducted in accordance with related laws and regulations,"
Zheng said, adding that China has notified the World Health
Organization's representative in the nation about the emergency
authorization and has received the organization's understanding and
support. Meanwhile, an approval committee headed by Zhong Nanshan, China's
leading respiratory disease expert, along with other top experts in law,
ethics and clinical medicine, is tasked with screening and selecting
which vaccine gets approved for emergency use, Zheng said. All vaccine recipients are voluntarily inoculated and are fully aware
of the risks involved, Zheng said, adding that there are mechanisms to
closely monitor the recipients for any adverse effects should they
occur. "We have not received reports of any recipient of the Chinese
COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency use as having severe adverse
effects," Zheng said, adding that there was no report of infection after
they arrived at their destination country. Gao Qiang, general manager of Chinese vaccine maker Sinovac Biotech,
said the company has established a robust adverse effect monitoring
system in accordance with global guidelines with all its foreign
partners, including in Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey. "We have not received a single report of vaccine-related severe adverse effects from our partners," he said. Domestically, China has a world-class adverse effect surveillance
system that is certified by the WHO for vaccines on the market,
according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This
system has played a key role in tracking and investigating
vaccine-related adverse effect incidents over the past decade, it added. Zhao Xing, a Foreign Ministry official, said China is proactively
fulfilling its promise of making COVID-19 vaccines a global public good
and promoting equitable access to safe and effective vaccines,
especially for developing countries. On Oct 8, China joined COVAX, an initiative co-led by the WHO and
partners to ensure efficient and equitable global access to a COVID-19
vaccine. As of Tuesday, 184 countries and regions have joined the
initiative. "Our vaccine development is leading the world, and we have enough
production capacity, but we still want to join COVAX because we want to
promote equal and fair access to the vaccine under the initiative," Zhao
said. "By joining the initiative, hopefully we can encourage more countries
to participate in the project as well," he said, adding that China will
enhance international collaboration to contribute to global public
health and safeguard the well-being of people around the world.
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