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Sinopharm Offering Free Covid-19 Vaccine To Students
Pharma giant Sinopharm could soon begin offering COVID-19 vaccination dates to students in the cities of Beijing and Wuhan, which were hit by a coronavirus outbreak earlier this year. Chinese media reported Tuesday that students in cities such as Beijing and Beijing are allowed to book appointments for vaccinations. [Sources: 0, 1]
People in the two Chinese cities will be able to make appointments via a multi-purpose app on their mobile phones. [Sources: 1]
The registration is for planned purposes, but no vaccine has yet been administered that will be enrolled, it said. In September, Sinopharm said it had not seen any serious adverse events in subjects receiving its vaccine, which is in the final stages of testing in both the Middle East and South America. So far, no “serious adverse reactions” have been detected, although the vaccine was used in an emergency program, the company’s chief medical officer, Dr. Zhang Zhiyong, said in a briefing last month. [Sources: 0]
Sinopharm did not respond to the report, and attempts by Sixth Tone to contact the company on Tuesday were unsuccessful. CNBG did not respond to text messages seeking comment, and China’s Education Ministry did not respond to phone calls. [Sources: 0, 1]
Several government agencies are still working on the plan and no final decision has been made, it said, but it is likely to be approved. [Sources: 0]
The vaccine development process, which normally takes years, has been squeezed into months, encouraged by politicians who want a quick fix for pandemics. In July, hundreds of thousands of people in China, including more than 1.5 million children and young adults, were vaccinated with a vaccine that is still in the final stages of human trials and awaiting approval. All 11 vaccine candidates approved for late-stage human trials are Chinese – developed. An earlier version of this story cited China’s National Biotec Group as a rival vaccine developer, Sinopharm. [Sources: 0, 1]
By Tuesday morning, more than 154,000 people had registered in China, and a notice at the end of the registration form said that students going abroad could receive the vaccine for free. The CNBG appears to be trying to gauge public interest in its vaccine candidates by providing a link on its website that allows people to apply for vaccination. Insiders said that students, especially those who plan to go abroad this winter or spring, will be given the vaccine and receive it for free. [Sources: 0, 1]
According to the report, a WeChat applet that ran Monday in collaboration with Sinopharm allowed people to register for appointments. In an interview with the head of China’s largest vaccine, its subsidiary China Biosciences, Sinpharm’s chairman hinted that a two-dose course would cost 1,000 yuan ($150), but later said the price would not exceed 600 yuan. [Sources: 1]
The discussion was prompted by fears of moving China, where aggressive containment measures have almost eradicated the pathogen, to other countries where coronavirus is still spreading rapidly, it said. Chinese authorities, students represent a group whose vaccine has not yet been fully tested, so they can determine whether the group can fall within the remit of the emergency response, the report said. [Sources: 0]
Although there are no risks associated with the unapproved vaccine, those who have been vaccinated with candidate can become infected with coronavirus and have severe side effects. The Chinese government’s efforts to stop the virus spreading to other countries, such as the US and Canada. [Sources: 0, 1]
Outbreaks in South America and India have shown little sign of coming under control, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control. [Sources: 0]
Meanwhile, epidemiologists are concerned about the impact of the outbreak in South America, which is also expected to coincide with the flu season. The state-run Sinopharm Group Co. Ltd. is distributing the experimental vaccine to students abroad to study, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly. China announced Friday it would join global efforts to provide future vaccines to other countries based on their needs, effectively helping the world’s most vulnerable nations. [Sources: 0, 1]
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