China Approves Its First SelfDeveloped COVID-19 Vaccine
China announced last Thursday that it had granted conditional marketing authorisation for its first self- developed COVID-19 vaccine.
The inactivated vaccine, which got the approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), is developed by the Beijing Biological Products Institute Co, Ltd under the China National Biotec Group (CNBG), which is affiliated with Sinopharm.
The interim results of its phase-3 clinical trials show 79.34 per cent efficacy against COVID-19, meeting the standards of the World Health Organisation and the NMPA, according to a press conference by the State Council joint prevention and control mechanism against COVID-19.
“This vaccine will be provided free of charge to all Chinese people,” said Zeng Yixin, deputy head of the National Health Commission (NHC).
China has adopted five technological approaches in developing COVID-19 vaccines.
Since July, a number of Chinese vaccine candidates have carried out phase-3 clinical trials overseas, said Mr Zeng, adding that China has been at the global forefront of COVID-19 vaccine development. China approved the emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines in June, targeting groups with high risks of infection.
By the end of November, more than 1.5 million doses of Chinese COVID-19 vaccines had been distributed for emergency use, and 60,000 vaccinated people have travelled abroad to high-risk regions, with no severe adverse reactions reported, Mr Zeng said.
On December 15, China officially launched a vaccination programme for this winter-spring period targeting a number of key groups. This includes those engaged in handling imported coldchain products, customs officers, medical workers and people working in public transport and fresh markets.
In the past 15 days, the number of doses of vaccination among the key groups exceeded three million.