China’s Covid-19 vaccine ready before clinical trials finish
No other country has chosen this path. In Russia, where a vaccine has already been approved, no doses have yet been administered. There is only one country in the world where a share of the population is already vaccinated against covid-19, accelerating compared to the traditional testing phases of a drug. It’s China. The New York Times writes that it first fell to the workers of state-controlled companies, then to members of the government and employees of the pharmaceutical companies that made the vaccines. Soon it will be the turn of teachers, staff who work in supermarkets and those traveling in risky areas.
“There is still no vaccine proven to be effective and safe, but that hasn’t stopped the Chinese government from inoculating tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people outside the traditional trial process,” he writes. the American newspaper.
No other country has chosen this path. In the United States in the face of pressure from Trump and public declarations on the very short arrival of a vaccine available, 9 pharmaceutical companies have taken a stand demanding that everything be done following the times of science and not politics. In Russia, the first country to approve a vaccine before the clinical trial ends, the vaccine announced by Putin has not yet been distributed.
In England, however, according to the Financial Times it was decided to infect healthy people to evaluate the effectiveness of the vaccine: this is also an acceleration, but it is always part of the testing phase, not of distribution to the population.
Experts heard by the New York Times are concerned about this Chinese acceleration because it is not yet proven that those vaccines are subsequently safe and some of the early vaccinates may not have had a choice. Second, those who are vaccinated may have a feeling of security that could be dangerous.
The vaccines that have been used in China are those in phase 3, or the last, which must demonstrate the safety of the drug. This is currently being conducted mainly outside of China.
Four of the 11 vaccines developed in China are now in phase 3. Wang Junzhi, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said trials are underway in the Middle East, South America, Southeast Asia, Europe and have so far demonstrated a good level of safety and no serious adverse reactions.
By Domenico Greco
