China vows to provide world with safe, effective Covid-19 vaccine

Vaccine development should focus on ensuring safety, effectiveness, and accessibility, Wang said. (Pexels photo)

BEIJING – China will make its coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine a global public good when it is ready for application after successful research and clinical trials, a senior Chinese official said Sunday.

Wang Zhigang, minister of science and technology, said at a press conference in Beijing that international cooperation should be strengthened in vaccine development, clinical trials, and application.

Vaccine development should focus on ensuring safety, effectiveness, and accessibility, Wang said.

China is currently developing Covid-19 vaccines in five categories — inactivated vaccines, recombinant protein vaccines, live attenuated influenza vaccines, adenovirus vaccines, and nucleic acid-based vaccines, Wang noted.

To date, four inactivated vaccines and one adenovirus vaccine have been approved for clinical trials, said a white paper titled “Fighting COVID-19: China in Action,” which was released by the State Council Information Office on Sunday.

While scientists in China and abroad have kept up with mutual developments, China leads the world in the development of certain types of vaccines, the white paper said.

A great deal of international cooperation had been carried out so far on vaccine development, Wang said.

Highlighting the significant role that vaccines had played in human history, Wang said both Chinese scientists and those in other countries are trying to make contributions to building a global community of health for all.

He, however, noted that the development of vaccines is a rigorous and complex procedure, which faces many uncertainties and may take a long period of time.

Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said at the press conference that China has participated in an international collaboration initiative launched by the World Health Organization to accelerate the development of vaccines and medicines for Covid-19.

China will fulfill its promise to provide the world with a safe, effective, and high-quality vaccine when it is ready, and help make the vaccine accessible to and affordable for developing countries, Ma stressed.