China’s First Shipment of Vaccine Aid Arrives in Pakistan, Renewing International Concerns About Safety
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China (CPC) recently announced that the first batch of China’s foreign aid for New Crown vaccine has arrived in Pakistan. But at the same Time, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security has uncovered a major case of manufacturing and selling fake New Crown vaccines in Jiangsu and other places. The emergence of the fake New Crown vaccine in China seems to be a wake-up call to put more question marks on China’s vaccines as the battle for vaccines rages around the world.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular press conference on Feb. 1 that the first batch of vaccines from China’s foreign aid had arrived in Pakistan. Last October, China pledged to provide vaccines to developing countries on a priority basis in various forms, including donations and non-reimbursable aid, and the vaccines that arrived in Pakistan early on the 1st were the first implementation since the pledge was made. Meanwhile, according to Chinese official media Xinhua, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security recently uncovered a major case of manufacturing and selling counterfeit vaccines, raising questions again about the safety of vaccines in China.
Ignoring the proliferation of fake vaccines while providing foreign aid raises taxpayer questions
Zhang Hai, a Family member of a victim of the Wuhan Epidemic, told the station that he could not understand the Chinese government’s inability to guarantee the local supply of vaccines while providing aid overseas for free: “I always want to ask them [the authorities], you have the energy to provide aid to this and that abroad, doesn’t this aid require economic investment? Why can’t you treat your own people well? Aid to foreign countries is generous, and there is total disregard for us, the families of the victims.”
Zhang Hai also questioned the safety of Chinese vaccines: “I have also read reports that some vaccines are not effective and their efficiency is much lower compared to other countries, and that (foreign aid for vaccines) is a bit too hasty.”
Zeng Yixin, deputy director of China’s National health Construction Commission, said at a Jan. 27 press conference on China’s State Council’s joint prevention and control mechanism that China had completed 22,767,000 doses of the new coronavirus vaccine as of Jan. 26, however, it is just beginning to reach the national goal of vaccinating at least 60 percent of the population against the new coronavirus to achieve herd immunity.
Expert: Lack of International Oversight of Direct Vaccine Assistance Is Risky
U.S. epidemiologist Jennifer Bouey previously said in an interview with this station that current worldwide vaccine production capacity is first to ensure vaccination of its own nationals, second to meet third-party country orders, and finally to supply the World Health Organization’s global New Coronavirus Vaccine Assurance Mechanism (COVAX). Huang Zhihuan argued that China’s direct vaccine aid to developing countries such as Pakistan is a bypass of WHO’s review of the safety of its vaccines and poses certain risks to both China and the recipient countries.
I think WHO’s (testing) requirements are also reasonable and right, for China as well, and China has gone through WHO’s quality assurance this way, so that exported vaccines China, WHO and other countries don’t have to worry too much,” she said. China and other countries one-to-one contracts, perhaps many countries themselves do not have the ability to quality assurance, so there will be some risk to China and that country.”
China National Pharmaceutical Group and Beijing Kexing Bio have submitted applications to the WHO, which is reviewing the applications and could make a decision on both as early as March, according to China Daily.
Bypassing international testing standards to provide direct counterpart assistance has previously been problematic, Huang Zhihuan said. She said, “In 2010 to 2011, China provided a lot of anti-malaria drug aid to Africa, and there were similar problems at that time. China is not a SRA (WHO Strict Regulation Authority) country, so there is no third-party, stricter quality assurance mechanism. The problem of counterfeiting came up in 2010 to 2011 as well.”
According to Huang Zhihuan, WHO does not have coercive power and cannot prevent China and Pakistan from trading and donating vaccines when they have bilateral aid agreements. Given that clinical data on Chinese vaccines have not yet been officially released and have not been certified by WHO for quality control, China should be more careful about providing vaccine aid to foreign countries. She warned that vaccine recipient countries should also conduct independent clinical trials on Chinese vaccines to avoid risks.
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