China pushes emergency use of COVID vaccine despite concerns
BEIJING >> After the first shot, he had no reaction. But Kan Chai felt woozy following the second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency use in China.
“When I was driving on the road, I suddenly felt a bit dizzy, as if I was driving drunk,” the popular writer and columnist recounted in a webinar earlier this month. “So I specially found a place to stop the car, rest a bit and then I felt better.”
His is a rare account from the hundreds of thousands of people who have been given Chinese vaccines, before final regulatory approval for general use. It’s an unusual move that raises ethical and safety questions, as companies and governments worldwide race to develop a vaccine that will stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Chinese companies earlier drew attention for giving the vaccine to their top executives and leading researchers before human trials to test their safety and efficacy had even begun. In recent months, they have injected a far larger number under an emergency use designation approved in June, and that number appears poised to rise.
A Chinese health official said Friday that China, which largely has eradicated the disease, needs to take steps to prevent it from coming back. But one outside expert questioned the need for emergency use when the virus no longer is spreading in the country where it was first detected.
It’s unclear exactly who and how many people have been injected so far, but Chinese vaccine makers have offered some clues. State- owned Sinopharm subsidiary
CNBG has given the vaccine to 350,000 people outside its clinical trials, which have about 40,000 people enrolled, a top CNBG executive said recently.
Another company, Sinovac Biotech Ltd., has injected 90% of its employees and family members, or about 3,000 people, most under the emergency-use provision, CEO Yin Weidong said. It has also provided tens of thousands of rounds of its CoronaVac to the Beijing city government.
Separately, the Chinese military has approved the use of a vaccine it developed with CanSino Biologics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, in military personnel.
Now large Chinese companies, including telecom giant Huawei and broadcaster Phoenix TV, have announced they’re working with Sinopharm to get the vaccine for their employees.
In an established but limited practice, experimental medications have been approved historically for use when they are still in the third and last phase of human trials. Chinese companies have four vaccines in phase 3 — two from Sinopharm, and one each from Sinovac and CanSino.
The Chinese government referenced the World Health Organization’s emergencyuse principles to create its own through a strict process, National Health Commission official Zheng Zhongwei said at a news conference Friday.
He said there have been no serious side effects in the clinical trials.
“We’ve made it very clear that the COVID-19 vaccine we put into emergency use are safe,” Zheng said. “Their safety can be ensured but their efficacy is yet to be determined.”