Sinopharm, Kexin vaccines included in COVAX program U.S. lawmakers question effectiveness of Chinese vaccines

The Global Alliance for Vaccine Immunization (GAVI) announced on Monday (July 12) that it has signed purchase agreements with China National Pharmaceutical Corporation and Kexing Corporation, meaning that vaccines produced by both companies will be included in the New Coronavirus Acquisition Mechanism (COVAX) vaccine pool. In response, some congressional Republicans have questioned the efficacy of the Chinese vaccine and said that if China wants to share responsibility in the effort to combat the global pandemic of New Coronavirus, it should cooperate with the international community in a full investigation of the origin of the New Coronavirus.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement Tuesday that he was concerned about the inclusion of China National and Kexin vaccines in the COVAX purchase program.

“Not only do the data show that their products are less effective, but the Chinese Communist Party has been using vaccines to hinder Taiwan and other countries to advance its authoritarian political goals,” McCaul said in the statement.

If the CCP suddenly wants to be a responsible player in the effort to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, they could start by allowing a full investigation into the source of COVID-19, stop spreading misinformation that undermines trust in U.S. vaccine manufacturers from all walks of life, and make donations to global relief efforts,” McCall said. “

McCaul also called on the Biden administration to publicly condemn COVAX’s decision, calling it “another example of the Chinese Communist Party’s shameless way of projecting its power and influence and filling its coffers.

COVAX is a global initiative aimed at providing equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccine, assisting developing and poor countries in obtaining sufficient quantities of the new crown vaccine. distribution and vaccination. By early 2021, 192 countries will have joined COVAX.

The Global Alliance for Vaccine Immunization said in a press statement Monday that it has signed pre-purchase agreements with China National Drug and Kexing to provide vaccines to COVAX for use in developing countries beginning in July.

According to the statement, the two Chinese companies will supply a total of 110 million doses of the new crown vaccine to COVAX by October of this year. By mid-2022, China National could supply up to 170 million doses of the vaccine and Kexing could supply up to 380 million doses.

However, it is not clear which countries will receive vaccines from the two Chinese companies.

The inclusion of the China National and Kexing vaccines in COVAX comes as more and more countries are questioning the effectiveness of the Chinese vaccines.

The Thai government announced Monday that people who received the first dose of the Coxin vaccine will receive a second dose of the AZ vaccine to increase their immunity to the new coronavirus variant. People who have received two doses of the Coxin vaccine will receive a third dose of the catch-up vaccine, which can be either the AZ vaccine or the mRNA technology vaccine.

A similar situation has occurred in Indonesia, where the outbreak has rapidly worsened in recent months. Indonesia first began using the Chinese-made vaccine in January of this year, and has received more than 150 million doses of the Chinese Coxin vaccine, accounting for about 90% of the vaccinations in Indonesia.

However, Indonesia’s new crown outbreak has worsened dramatically over the past week. As of Tuesday, the total number of confirmed cases in Indonesia has exceeded 2.57 million, making it the most serious outbreak in Southeast Asia. The Indonesian government announced on the 9th of this month that Moderna will be administered to medical personnel as a third dose of vaccine to strengthen protection against the outbreak, which is still spreading rapidly.

Most of the countries with high vaccination rates and Covid-19 infection rates rely on vaccines made in China, according to CNBC, the U.S. financial television network.

However, experts say countries should not stop using Covid-19 vaccine from China, especially when supply shortages are extremely high in low- and middle-income countries.

An analysis done by CNBC found that the weekly number of COVID-19 cases, adjusted for demographic factors, remains high in at least six of the world’s most highly vaccinated countries, and five of them rely on vaccines from China.

According to the analysis, as of July 6, CNBC identified 36 countries with more than 1,000 new confirmed cases per million people per week using data from its database, which compiles information from sources such as the World Health Organization, governments and researchers at Oxford University.CNBC then identified more than 60 percent of the population in those 36 countries that had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

These countries ranked six, five of which rely primarily on the Chinese vaccine: the United Arab Emirates, Seychelles, Mongolia, Uruguay and Chile. One of the countries that does not rely on the Chinese vaccine is the United Kingdom.