China is among the few coronavirus vaccine developers promising an effective cure by the end of the year. They have also committed to distributing their vaccines to several countries, prioritizing low-income nations.
Sinopharm, a pharmaceutical group based in Shanghai, had been developing two vaccines. Currently, human trials involving nearly 350,000 people are ongoing in Argentina, Bahrain, Peru, the United Arab Emirates, and several others.
In Bahrain, phase three of the trials began recruiting 6,000 participants. Since June, phase three in the U.A.E. recruited 15,000 participants.
Around 1,000 volunteers are receiving the two-dose vaccine per day. According to the company, the vaccine may provide immunity for up to three years.
Officially Joining COVAX
The commitment to providing vaccines to developing countries comes from the collaborative group COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX), which China officially joined on October 8. COVAX aims to provide two billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines to vulnerable people and healthcare frontliners in developing countries. Around 80 countries have joined the alliance alongside the World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance owned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
China has a total of four vaccines that are in the third stage of clinical testing worldwide. The other leading vaccines are being developed by the companies Sinovac and CanSino Biologics.
According to trial results, only 1% to 3% of participants experienced fever from Sinovac's vaccine candidate. No more than 8% experienced exhaustion, and 10% experiencing pain. There were no severe adverse events reported.
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Chian's Vaccine Candidates
CanSino's vaccine candidate had been developed alongside Canada, who will produce the vaccine if it is approved for emergency pandemic use. Their phase one and two clinical trials have had successful results so far.
CanSino's Senior Vice President, Dongxu Qiu, said, "The COVAX facility is especially important to develop countries as it ensures equal access to COVID-19 vaccines for both developed and developing countries." Phase three of their clinical trials are being completed in Pakistan and Russia.
China's government leaders have had a growing list of countries they committed to, including the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, and countries in Africa and Latin America. Sinovac has pledged to deliver 60 million doses to Brazil by November and 40 million doses to Indonesia by March.
Zheng Zhongwei, who leads the government's coronavirus vaccine task force, shared that China will produce 600 million vaccine doses before the end of 2020. By 2021, the country will reach one billion doses.
Several experts are not sure how China will produce and deliver that many vaccine doses, considering the country's population at nearly 1.4 billion people. Jerome Kim from the International Vaccine Institute in Seoul, South Korea, said, "When Xi said he would make vaccines for the 'global public good,' he said the right words. Joining COVAX turns those words into action."
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