China: COVID-19 vaccine will be available by November

Photo by Prasesh Shiwakoti (Lomash)

While the world awaits a coronavirus vaccine hundreds of thousands in china are receiving their second jab of one being tested there, medical workers, military officers and civil servants were among those given emergency use approval for experimental vaccines earlier this year 9 of the over 30 coronavirus vaccines undergoing human trials around the world are being produced in china, china's center for disease control says one may be rolled out to the public as early as November. 

Wu Guizhen "China is at the forefront of the whole world in the development and production of vaccines there are currently 9 types of covid-19 vaccines in the world that have entered phase 3 and china accounts for 5 ". Low numbers of domestic coronavirus cases have led to Chinese companies completing late stage phase 3 trials abroad, state-owned company Cyanofarm began testing in the United Arab Emirates in July, frontline medical workers there have also been given emergency doses, Cyanofarm vaccines are also being tested in Peru and Morocco, thousands in Brazil and Bangladesh have been given vaccines by the company Sinovac. 

While the Chinese military-affiliated CanSino Biologics is conducting tests in Russia and Saudi Arabia. Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte says he pled to be given early access to a Chinese vaccine, ruling out confrontation with Beijing over territorial disputes in the south china sea, Chinese leaders have promised similar access to Indonesia and countries along the Mekong river but not everyone is convinced. 

China's CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) says vaccine trials are going smoothly and no side effects have been documented, but medical experts in the US and UK have described china's emergency use program as problematic, saying effectiveness cannot be proven before all testing is completed.