China using jabs before trials complete

CHINA has begun administering vaccines early to volunteers before clinical trials have concluded, focusing on business travellers going overseas.

Businessmen receiving vaccines must agree to confidentiality, and in some cases are paying for the jabs. One man paid 1,000 yuan (£110) for two shots, state media reported.

In June, state media reported that vaccines would be offered to employees of China’s state-owned companies preparing to go abroad to countries where transmission rates were higher.

The rush to offer vaccines underscores the global race to find a cure for the pandemic which has infected 21.8million people and killed 775,000.

Success could help Beijing deflect anger over its pandemic cover-up and support its virus-ravaged economy.

Executives of Chinese pharmaceutical companies working on the vaccines were reportedly among the first to receive vaccines as a way to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the therapies.

Vaccines were also administered to military personnel starting in late June, reported state media.