In August, Russia's Sputnik vaccine was the first candidate to be regulated while phase three of clinical trials were yet to be completed. Similarly, China has allowed three vaccine candidates to be used for the public while final clinical trials are ongoing.
The first candidate is the Kexing vaccine by Beijing Kexing Biological, which anyone can receive upon payment of $300. In September, SinoPharm's experimental vaccine was administered to health workers as well as officials who traveled to high-risk countries. This week, people have lined up for the CoronaVac vaccine candidate by SinoVac for $60.
Adam Kamradt-Scott from the University of Syndey said that what China is doing is an "unsound public health practice." Previous examples of vaccines not completing sufficient clinical trials resulted in adverse reactions such as long-term health consequences, he said.
Lack of Sufficient Trials
For example, in the 1970s, millions of Americans received immunization for swine flu. The lack of clinical trials resulted in some people developing chronic fatigue syndrome and sparked the anti-vaxxer movement.
Moreover, the case count in China has been low in the past few months, meaning that stage three trials can only be completed with volunteers from other countries. There were also no human challenge trials yet where people volunteer to receive a vaccine candidate then be deliberately exposed to the live virus to test immunity.
However, there is a campaign that started in the United Kingdom challenging volunteers in London and around the world to start a coronavirus challenge trial.
Read Also: China's Response to the Pandemic Puts the Nation in a Post-Covid New Normal
China's Post-Covid New Normal
Strangely, this comes at a time that China is already in a post-Covid new normal where things seem to have gone back to pre-pandemic times. Schools, businesses, and transportation services are open and fully operating.
Moreover, wearing a face mask and physical distancing rules are no longer mandatory. It seems as if the pandemic is nonexistent, described one international college student.
Li Shurui, an overseas college student who received a vaccine candidate before leaving China, said that he was initially worried about side effects but worried more about getting infected in the U.K. For now, he hasn't described any negative adverse effects. Li also said that with things getting back to normal in China, it seems that people don't even need to get the vaccine anymore.
Earlier this month, China had officially joined the international group Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access or COVAX, promising to produce vaccines for developing countries. SinoVac pledged to deliver 60 million doses to Brazil by next month and another 40 million doses to Indonesia by early next year.
Overall, China's coronavirus vaccine task force said that they will produce 600 million vaccine doses before 2021 from companies such as SinoVac, SinoPharm, and CanSino.
Governor Joao Doria from Sao Paulo said that among the international vaccine candidates tested in Brazil, "CoronaVac is the safest, the one with the best and most promising rates."
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