Chinese vaccines offer relief for developing nations due to better accessibility and lower costs
Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria poses for photos holding a dose of the CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine next to a container unloaded from a cargo plane that arrived from China at Guarulhos International Airport in Guarulhos, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, on Dec 18, 2020. (NELSON ALMEIDA / AFP)
As a growing number of developed countries kicked off their vaccine programs in the past week, the Chinese government said it is exploring means to make its vaccines more accessible to developing nations.
At a press conference on Dec 28, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian reiterated that it has been China’s solemn, consistent commitment that once developed and deployed, Chinese vaccines “will be made global public goods” and “supplied to the world with fair, reasonable prices”, contributing to the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in developing countries.
“We will also actively consider providing vaccines to developing countries through many means, including donation and assistance,” said Zhao.
Zhao also stressed that the Chinese government attaches high importance to the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and that Chinese vaccine companies have been advancing their research and development based on science and regulations, carrying out international cooperation, following norms, laws and regulations.
China’s drugmakers will supply nearly 400 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to countries in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.
Three Chinese firms — China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), Sinovac Biotech and CanSino Biologics — have made those deals, according to public data compiled by British analytics firm Airfinity and the Duke Global Health Innovation Centre in the US.
Sinopharm, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Russia’s Sputnik V vaccines are among those being administered to people in over a dozen countries. It is estimated that the production of COVID-19 vaccines could top 16 billion doses in 2021, some 9 billion of which are from wealthier nations.
On Dec 24, Brazilian health authorities announced that China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd showed efficacy between 50 and 90 percent in trials.
Results of trials in the Latin American nation are known exclusively by Sao Paulo state’s Butantan Institute biomedical research center, which collaborated with Sinovac to produce the vaccine. The trial results are expected to be released on Jan 7, according to a Reuters report.
Other countries across Latin America are also looking to vaccines developed by Sinovac, CanSino Biologics or the Sinopharm Group to bring their immunization campaigns to fruition.
Among the nations looking at vaccines developed in China is Argentina, where Sinopharm has been running large trials for its vaccine. Mexico is among other countries pinning its hopes on vaccines from CanSino and Sinovac.
Peru, like other nations in the region, is looking to the COVAX initiative for support. COVAX is a global collaboration brought together by the World Health Organization and Gavi, the vaccine alliance, to support the research, development and purchase of COVID-19 vaccines.
In Turkey, the first batch of COVID-19 jabs from China, which comprises three million doses, was scheduled to arrive on Dec 30. Ankara earlier inked a deal to buy a total of 50 million doses of the Chinese injection.
Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said the interim results’ efficacy rate from phase 3 trials developed by China’s Sinovac is at 91.25 percent. Nearly 9 million people are set to get vaccinated in the first stage, and the jab could be administered to some 1.5 million or even 2 million people per day, Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News reported.
Turkish researchers reported that no major side-effects were seen during the trial, except for one person who had an allergic reaction. Common adverse effects caused by the vaccine were fever, mild pain and slight fatigue, they said.
The Turkish trials began on Sept 14 and have included more than 7,000 volunteers.
Sinovac is the first Chinese vaccine maker to release details from late-stage clinical trials, following positive results from rival products developed by global giants Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca in November.
Turkey also announced that the country will purchase up to 30 million vaccines developed by German-based medical firm BioNTech.
In the United Arab Emirates, whose government was first to declare the Chinese-made vaccines as having 86 percent efficacy, its National Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) reported on Dec 29 the success of its third phase of clinical trials of the Russian and Chinese Sinopharm vaccines.
“The Chinese Sinopharm vaccine achieved positive results with the efficacy rate reaching 86 percent, and the preliminary results showed 100 percent protection against the occurrence of moderate and severe infections,” NCEMA’s tweet read.
“The UAE has applied the highest scientific standards in its treatment of COVID-19, surpassing all countries in the Middle East and Africa, and is rated as tenth in the world in its effectiveness of treating the virus.”
Further, it said the UAE used laser technology to diagnose the COVID-19 disease, and that it was one of the first countries to use plasma and stem cell therapy to stimulate recovery.
Bahrain, which has a population of about 1.5 million, became the second country to approve a Chinese-made vaccine. The country has also approved vaccines from US-based Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech.
In Indonesia, The Jakarta Post reported that the Indonesian Society of Internal Medicine (PAPDI) has said that a candidate vaccine produced by China’s Sinovac Biotech is suitable to be given to recipients with certain underlying health conditions.
PAPDI, it said, sent a recommendation letter dated Dec 18 to the Indonesian Medical Association on the list of comorbidities the Sinovac vaccine is compatible with. The last stage of the trials took place in Bandung, West Java.
Experts have said that it is not unusual for a vaccine to show different efficacy rates in various settings, as trial protocols, data size and population could impact results.
Indonesia, which has logged the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia at more than 700,000, has ordered around 160 million vaccine doses — 140 million of which are manufactured by Sinovac Biotech. The remaining orders were made to Novavax, an American firm.
The Philippines, with more than 400,000 cases, is looking at securing 25 million doses of Sinovac this year. Philippine authorities said that American drugmaker Pfizer has applied for emergency use authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine in the archipelago.
Logistics-wise, vaccines made by Pfizer require special temperature and ultra-cold storage that could cost up to US$30,000. The five Chinese vaccines, meanwhile, can be preserved for 36 months at temperatures of 2 C to 8 C.
According to a report from Xinhua, Osama Abdel-Hay, secretary-general of the Egyptian Medical Syndicate, said the manufacturing, transportation and distribution of the other vaccines “involve difficulties that cannot be underestimated for many countries,” and that the Chinese vaccine “is ideal for Egypt and its capabilities”.
On Dec 10, Egypt received its first batch of Chinese anti-coronavirus vaccines from the UAE.
Egypt also has a company to manufacture vaccines, which could leverage the North African country to become a center for making and distributing the Chinese vaccine in Africa and the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Morocco Health Minister Khalid Ait Taleb announced that his nation has secured acquisition of 65 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from China’s Sinopharm and Britain’s Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
The North African country is aiming to inoculate 25 million people or 80 percent of its total population. Preparations for the campaign have reached a “very advanced” stage, Ait Taleb was quoted as saying, adding that priority population will get the vaccine for free.
In Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan is betting big on the Chinese vaccine. The South Asian country is also in talks with other countries, including Russia, for the jabs.
China’s vaccine response and collaboration with other countries has earned praise from experts, but they said the vaccines should not make the public complacent.
Doctor Michael Felfernig, medical director of the Abu Dhabi-based healthcare services provider RPM-VPS Group, warned that the rollout must not lead to the point that “people start neglecting precautionary measures”.
Felfernig, who was inoculated in September, has been administering the Chinese jabs to his staff through his group’s vaccination program.
China and the UAE have proven during the crisis that fast and resolute actions are the only ways to contain a pandemic outbreak, Felfernig said, adding that scientific collaborations are necessary to gain quick, representative and valid data, which are informative about the efficiency and tolerance of different populations.
Martin Lush, global vice-president at US-based public health organization NSF International Health Sciences, said China and Asia-Pacific countries have “certainly led the way and recovered faster and better than those in the West — most notably the EU and the Americas”.
Lush raised concerns over counterfeit vaccines, with the Interpol having issued a warning over the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines online and offline.
Lush said the adverse reactions from fake and unsafe vaccines will increase vaccine hesitancy and “severely damage future, non-COVID-related vaccination programs” to come.
“We must remember the risk of future of pandemics is real — so let us use COVID to build and reinforce trust, not knock it down,” he said.
Sergio Held in Cajica, Colombia, and agencies contributed to this story.
