The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Thursday that China is willing to provide the new crown vaccine for the Tokyo Olympics and the Beijing Winter Olympics, and that the IOC has agreed to purchase it from China. The JOC was surprised by the news, and the problems with the Chinese vaccine have once again raised doubts in public opinion.
The New Crown Epidemic continues to rage and the IOC will organize two Olympic Games in eight months, for which IOC President Bach, who extended his four-year term on Wednesday, said that China is willing to provide the vaccine to the Games and the IOC has agreed to purchase the vaccine from China for this purpose to provide free injections to teams participating in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The IOC did not offer a timetable or say how much vaccine it would purchase, or how it would be distributed.
There will be about 11,000 athletes participating in the Summer Games, but with coaches, media, volunteers and officials, there will be as many as tens of thousands. The Chinese Olympic Committee has said it will provide as much vaccine as needed, Bach said.
The news first sparked alarm in Japan, the host of the Summer Games, where Toshiro Muto, chief executive of the Tokyo Organizing Committee, replied to the media, “Was The Japanese side informed in advance? No. Not at all!”
For its part, China said it had provided the vaccine to more than 60 countries, but EU President Michel criticized China for overplaying it and using the new crown vaccine as a diplomatic and propaganda tool. He also reminded that China’s own vaccination rates are as much as twice as low as those of EU countries.
One of the main problems raised by the Chinese vaccine is the lack of complete Phase III clinical trial data, which is the main reason why the Chinese vaccine has not yet been approved by the World health Organization for inclusion on the emergency use list.
Chinese vaccines experimented overseas, including the Kexing vaccine and the Guoyao vaccine, are significantly less effective than European and American vaccines. According to the Hong Kong media, three people in Hong Kong died after receiving the Kexing vaccine, and three other cases were sent to emergency rooms for resuscitation after vaccination.
At the same Time, the very low willingness of the Chinese people to be vaccinated has caused concern in the international community. According to figures disclosed by Chinese experts during the two sessions, the vaccination rate in China is 0.38%, which is much lower than that of countries such as the United States and Israel, and twice as low as that of Europe and the United States. One of the main reasons for the low willingness of the Chinese population to be vaccinated is skepticism about the safety and efficacy of domestically produced vaccines, and the repeated vaccine and counterfeit drug scandals that have occurred in China in recent years have also made it difficult for the nation to feel at ease.
The low level of vaccination among Chinese people has also raised concerns among domestic experts in China, both Zhong Nanshan and Zhang Wenhong, who have called for accelerated vaccination and a general increase in immunity among Chinese people. A report by the Anbang think tank even argues that if Chinese vaccination rates are too low, “China may be classified as a self-isolated world without resistance.”
What outside opinion also fears is that if Chinese vaccination rates are low, China could once again become a source of infection and contagion for new coronaviruses when other countries become universally vaccinated and gain immunity.
With the Chinese vaccine raising many questions, the IOC’s sudden announcement of the above decision naturally caused a considerable degree of surprise in public opinion.
Recent Comments