Covid-19: China gives ‘unproven’ vaccine to thousands of people, makes them sign ‘secrecy’ agreement

 Thousands of Chinese have already been inoculated by Covid-19 vaccines which are still under trial. China has said WHO gave them a go-ahead.

Little is known about China’s Covid-19 vaccination programme. (REUTERS)

China is injecting thousands of its people with Covid-19 vaccine shots, which are still under trial and hence their efficacy unproven, reports said. people who are getting these vaccine shots are made to sign a “nondisclosure agreement”, according to which they can’t talk about it to the news media.

High-risk population, including staff of state-owned companies, government officials, vaccine company staff, teachers are being inoculated on an emergency basis. Global heath experts are raising questions whether their consent has are being taken or not.

In its defence, China has said that the world Health Organization supported China’s experimental coronavirus vaccine programme, which started in July. China informed WHO in June, Zheng Zhongwei, a National Health Commission official, told Reuters.

WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan has said countries can approve use of medical products within their own jurisdiction in the current emergency situation but only as a “temporary solution”.

China currently has 11 vaccines in clinical trials and four in Phrase 3 trials.Among these. two are developed by state-backed China National Biotec Group and one by Sinovac Biotech. Another experimental vaccine was developed by CanSino Biologics, which was approved to be used in the Chinese military in June.

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Russia's Putin says strengthen WHO, proposes conference on coronavirus vaccine

Russian President Putin told the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday the world Health Organization should be strengthened to coordinate the worldwide response to the coronavirus pandemic and proposed a high-level conference on vaccine cooperation.

Image coutesy : Google

“We are proposing to hold an online high-level conference shortly for countries interested in cooperation in the development of anti-coronavirus vaccines,” Putin said.

“We are ready to share experience and continue cooperating with all states and international entities, including in supplying the Russian vaccine which has proved reliable, safe, and effective, to other countries,” he said.

News Source: Reuters

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Covid-19 vaccine distribution not expected until mid-2021: WHO chief scientist

 None of the candidate vaccines in advanced clinical trials thus far has demonstrated a "clear signal" of efficacy at the extent of a minimum of 50% sought by the WHO, spokeswoman Margaret Harris said.

The World Health Organization doesn't expect widespread vaccinations against COVID-19 until the center of next year, a spokeswoman said on Friday, stressing the importance of rigorous checks on their effectiveness and safety.

None of the candidate vaccines in advanced clinical trials thus far has demonstrated a "clear signal" of efficacy at the extent of a minimum of 50% sought by the WHO, spokeswoman Margaret Harris said.

Russia granted regulatory approval to a COVID-19 vaccine in August after less than two months of human testing, prompting some Western experts to question its safety and efficacy.

US public health officials and Pfizer Inc said on Thursday a vaccine might be ready for distribution as soon as late October. That might be just before the US election on Nov. 3 during which the pandemic is probably going to be a serious factor among voters deciding whether President Donald Trump wins a second term.

"We are really not expecting to see widespread vaccination until the middle of next year," Harris told a UN briefing in Geneva.

"This phase 3 must take longer because we need to see how truly protective the vaccine is and that we also need to see how safe it is," she added. This mentioned the introduce vaccine research where large clinical trials among people are conducted. Harris didn't ask any specific vaccine candidate.

All data from trials must be shared and compared, Harris said. "A lot of people have been vaccinated and what we don't know is whether the vaccine works...at this stage we do not have the clear signal of whether or not it's the level of worthwhile efficacy and safety...," she added.

The WHO and GAVI vaccine alliance are leading a worldwide vaccine allocation plan referred to as COVAX that aims to assist buy and distribute shots fairly. the main target is on first vaccinating the foremost high-risk people in every country like healthcare workers.

COVAX aims to acquire and deliver 2 billion doses of approved vaccines by the top of 2021, but some countries that have secured their own supplies through bilateral deals, including the us , have said they will not join.

"Essentially, the door is open. We are open. What the COVAX is about is making sure everybody on the planet will get access to the vaccines," Harris said.

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