BEIJING: China has been giving experimental coronavirus vaccines to groups facing high infection risks since July, a health official told state media.
No vaccine has yet passed final, large-scale trials to prove it is safe and effective enough to protect people from contracting the virus that has led to almost 800,000 deaths worldwide.
The aim is to boost the immunity of specific groups of people, including medical workers and those who work at food markets and in the transportation and service sectors, Zheng Zhongwei, a National Health Commission official, told state TV in an interview aired late on Saturday.
Authorities could consider modestly expanding the emergency use program to try to prevent possible outbreaks during the autumn and winter, added Zheng, who heads the Chinese government-led team that coordinates state resources for coronavirus vaccine development.
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.
“[The price] will definitely be lower than what Liu said,” Zheng said.
China giving experimental coronavirus vaccines to high-risk groups since July: Official
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China giving experimental coronavirus vaccines to high-risk groups since July: Official
- The aim is to boost the immunity of specific groups of people, including medical workers and those who work at food markets
- Some countries are skeptical about China’s use of experimental vaccines
Suspected Russia shadow tanker escorted toward French port: prefecture
- The tanker, the Grinch, was intercepted Thursday morning in international waters
- French prosecutors suspect it of belonging to the Russian shadow fleet
PARIS: An intercepted oil tanker suspected of belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet headed Saturday to a port in southern France for police to inspect, French authorities said.
The tanker, the Grinch, was intercepted Thursday morning in international waters between Spain and North Africa, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on X.
French prosecutors suspect it of belonging to the Russian shadow fleet, a network of vessels Moscow is accused of using to dodge sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine.
The French navy was escorting it on Saturday evening toward the port of Fos-sur-Mere near Marseille, where it was scheduled to arrive later in the day, the regional maritime prefecture said in a statement.
It will be anchored and kept at the disposal of the Marseille public prosecutor as part of a preliminary investigation for failure to fly a flag, it added.
The prefecture said nautical and air exclusion zones had been established around the anchorage site.
Some 598 vessels suspected of belonging to the shadow fleet are under European Union sanctions.
Authorities said the 249-meter-long Grinch appears under that name on a UK sanctions list of Russian shadow?fleet vessels, but as Carl on lists compiled by the EU and the United States.
