BEIJING: As of July, a health official told state media, China has been offering novel coronavirus vaccines to groups facing a high risk of infection.
No vaccine has yet undergone final, large-scale trials to prove that it is safe and efficient enough to
prevent people from contracting the virus which has resulted in nearly 800,000 deaths worldwide.
In an interview broadcast late Saturday, Zheng Zhongwei, a National Health Commission official, told
state TV that the goal is to improve the immunity of different groups of citizens, including medical
staff and those working on food markets and in the transportation and service sectors.
The guidelines for emergency use of potential coronavirus vaccines, approved on June 24 according to Zheng, have not been made public.
State media Global Times reported in June that China had been offering candidate coronavirus vaccines to employees at state-owned firms traveling overseas.
Some countries are skeptical about China’s use of experimental vaccines. Papua New Guinea has denied entry to Chinese nationals who participated in a coronavirus vaccine trial, according to the Australian newspaper.
China’s coronavirus vaccines will be priced close to cost, Zheng said.
“It does not mean that companies cannot make profits,” Zheng said. “Companies should decide on moderate profits or reasonable profits based on costs.”
A potential coronavirus vaccine being developed by a unit of China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) could cost no more than 1,000 yuan ($144) for two shots, Sinopharm chairman Liu Jingzhen told state media last week
