China Claims Covid-19 Vaccines May Roll Out In November
For the past year, the world has been advised to remain vigilant against the highly infectious Covid-19.
After all, there is no commercially available vaccine just yet. However, China claims that their Covid-19 vaccines may be ready for use by the public in November.
According to the Straits Times, China already has 4 vaccines in final stage clinical trials, at least 3 of which have been rolled out for an emergency-use programme.
Frontliners in China are already using Covid-19 vaccines
China offered the vaccines to essential workers such as medical, aviation, and military personnel. This falls under the state’s emergency-use programme, reports Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
Through this programme, they aim to boost the immunity of high-risk groups such as border inspectors and medical workers.
The Straits Times reports that the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) medical research unit is working with private firms such as CanSino to develop vaccines.
No side effects reported for Chinese vaccines so far
According to China National Biotec Group (CNBG), which has given over 100,000 vaccinations, recipients have not reported adverse reactions.
Furthermore, none have contracted Covid-19, reports Chinese English daily Global Times.
Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) chief biosafety expert Guizhen Wu said in a TV interview that she personally has not shown abnormal symptoms thus far, according to CNA.
China part of global effort for successful vaccine
The New York Times’ Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker reveals that 38 vaccines are under human clinical trials while at least 93 are still in the preclinical phase.
So far, 3 vaccines have been approved for early or limited use.
Even so, it is important to note that at this stage, no vaccine has passed mass trials in proving that it can protect people from getting infected by Covid-19.
To date, there are over 29.3 million confirmed cases worldwide, with close to 930,000 deaths at the time of writing.
Hope is on the horizon
Though the Covid-19 pandemic has taken a toll on countries around the world, it seems that countries are making progress in vaccine development as some have been rolled out for frontliners.
For now, we can only sit tight in hopes of a successful vaccine, so that life could revert to the way it was before the pandemic.
Featured image adapted from Pharma Scientist.
