Vaccines could be fast-tracked for at-risk groups before trials end

CHINA may use coronavirus vaccines as early as September on at-risk groups – even if clinical trials have yet to be completed.

In the latest sign it is ramping up its drive for a global cure, health officials are drafting guidelines for administering vaccines under testing to priority groups, such as medical personnel.

China has five vaccines in phase II human trials – more than any other country. Producing a cure could buoy its coronavirus-ravaged economy and help Beijing deflect global anger over its cover-up of the pandemic.

“China would have quite a cherry … [if it] manages to come out with a vaccine that becomes generally accepted around the world,” said William Lee, chief economist of the Milken Institute, a think tank tracking vaccine development. “That would be a coup.”

China has sunk 4billion yuan (£450million) into research and development of Covid-19 vaccines and therapies, and expects to spend more than double that in total, premier Li Keqiang said this week. China is also building dozens of high-grade biosafety labs to study the most infectious pathogens.

“We need to hold technological confidence in certain fields,” said Chen Wei, an army general and virologist overseeing China’s most promising vaccine. Her project, a collaboration between a military medical institute and private biotech firm CanSino, uses a live virus to carry genetic material into human cells to elicit a stronger immune response than typical vaccines.

Scientists have studied this technology for decades, including for HIV, but it has yet to be approved for humans.

Mr Lee warns that winning is not a numbers game alone, as a “lack of quality of control in the production of vaccines has tainted China’s image”.

More recently, it has exported faulty coronavirus tests and respirators, which means other countries may be reluctant to take up its pledge to make vaccines globally available if it does become the first to develop one.

Meanwhile, experts say effective therapies to mitigate outbreaks until enough vaccine doses are produced are equally crucial.

Judith Li, a partner at Lilly Asia Ventures, which has invested in China’s CanSino, said: “People are still going to be infected, so there absolutely needs to be both therapeutics and vaccines.”

‘China would have quite a cherry if it comes out with a vaccine that is accepted around the world’