China says human trials of five vaccines in final stage

Officials say no serious adverse event happened during trials in Pakistan, UAE, Brazil

The China National Health Commission (NHC) has said that 15 vaccines, utilising five different technologies, are under clinical trials in China, while five are in the final stage of human trials in countries like the United Arab Emirates, Brazil and Pakistan.

When vaccines are approved for the larger market, and more vaccines become available, they’ll be rolled out for the general public. However, according to China Global Television Network (CGTN), people would still be told to wear masks after injection.

“After stringent monitoring and observation, no serious adverse event has occurred [at the trials] About 60,000 recipients went to high-risk areas abroad for work, so far serious infections have not been reported,” Zheng Zhongwei, Director, Medical Sci & Tech Development Centre, NHC said told CGTN.

“With these results, the country is planning to vaccinate larger groups this winter. Priority will be given to workers in cold chain logistics, customs, seafood markets, public transportation, disease control areas, and those who go to high-risk areas,” the report said.

“It’s hard to say how long it’ll remain effective. But there is some information already, in the clinical trials which started this March,” said Zeng Yixin, a deputy director at the NHC. “We have seen a constant presence of antibodies in the vaccine volunteers,” Zeng added.

“Many medical institutes have also been monitoring recovered Covid-19 patients, and found antibodies can be present for as long as 10 months. This evidence has shown that China’s Covid-19 vaccines have met the WHO’s vaccine validity period requirements of over six months.”

Chinese authorities have said that after the trials are completed, if the vaccine’s performance meets the required standards, the National Medical Products Administration will approve it for market use. The government also says it’s prepared for mass production.

China has approved emergency use of three Covid-19 vaccines in June, two from CNBG Sinopharm and one from Sinovac. The State Council taskforce on Covid-19 had said that more than 1 million doses have been administered since emergency use started in July.

The Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines have seen 75,000 vaccinated abroad in phase-III trials, with 150,000 doses injected. One person requires two doses normally that means hundreds of thousands Chinese have received the vaccination. APP