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Nearly one million people have taken an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by Chinese company Sinopharm, the company said, although it has not yet provided any clear clinical evidence of efficacy.
China has been giving experimental Covid-19 vaccines to people including state employees, international students, and essential workers headed abroad since July.
Sinopharm’s president told the media this week that nearly one million people have received the vaccine for emergency use, although he has not provided a specific figure.
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“We haven’t received a single report on the serious adverse reaction, and only a few have experienced some mild symptoms,” Liu Jingzhen said in an interview reissued Wednesday by the state-owned company.
China has been optimistic about developing its vaccine for the new virus – which first surfaced in the country’s center late last year – with four vaccines now in an advanced stage of testing.
Much of the trials are taking place overseas, as China has largely kept the virus under control within its borders.
Sinopharm is testing two vaccines in late stage trials in countries including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Peru and Argentina.
The company said this week that it is a “world leader in all aspects” of vaccine development, although it has not provided clinical evidence from ongoing studies.
Instead, he cited anecdotal experiences of those who were inoculated, including “construction personnel, diplomats and foreign students” who reportedly visited more than 150 countries after vaccination without being infected.
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President Xi Jinping said any Chinese vaccine would be a “global public good” after the country was criticized, particularly by the United States, for its timely handling of the epidemic.
Many of those who have been vaccinated in China are not formal participants in drug manufacturers’ trials and are said to have done so voluntarily.
Competition has intensified between pharmaceutical companies vying to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, with two vaccines – one from US company Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, and another from US company Moderna – publishing test data this month on large scale that showed their shots were about 95% effective against Covid-19.
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