A Chinese pharmaceutical company said on Wednesday that advanced drug tests showed that one of its coronavirus vaccines was effective, showing positive results that could pave the way for the global launch of hundreds of millions of doses of Chinese vaccines in the coming months. .
The company, a state-controlled firm called Sinopharm, said a vaccine candidate made by its Beijing Biological Products Institute arm proved to have a 79% effectiveness rate in Phase 3 intermediate tests. Sinopharm said it filed a request from Chinese regulators to allow the vaccine to be used widely.
A complete analysis of the results was not immediately available. If supported, the results will reinforce claims that Chinese authorities have made in recent days that the country’s vaccines are safe and effective. Authorities have already moved forward with plans to vaccinate 50 million people in China by mid-February, when hundreds of millions are expected to travel for the Lunar New Year holiday, according to a Chinese vaccine expert.
China’s effort to develop a home-made vaccine meets the country’s technological and diplomatic ambitions. If Chinese vaccines withstand global scrutiny, they will support the country’s affirmation as a peer and rival to the United States and other developed countries in the biomedical sciences.
The results of the Sinopharm vaccine show that it is less effective than others that have been approved in other countries. Still, the results are well above the 50 percent limit that makes a vaccine effective in the eyes of the medical institution.
Two other coronavirus vaccines, made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, have already been shown to have an efficacy rate of about 95 percent. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has received authorization in more than 40 countries. Moderna’s vaccine has been authorized in the United States, while other countries are evaluating test results. Russia announced that its Sputnik V vaccine has a 91 percent effectiveness rate and has started a mass vaccination campaign.
Beijing has relied heavily on the promise of its vaccines to strengthen ties with developing countries considered vital to China’s interests. Officials have traveled the world promising to supply Chinese vaccines as a “global public good”, a charm offensive that the United States may try to contain, especially when the campaign invades its backyard.
Political stakes in the race for a vaccine are particularly high for the Communist Party of China, whose authoritarian government was criticized for stifling information and minimizing the virus when it first appeared in the city of Wuhan last year. A successful vaccine, if quickly made available to the world, could help repair the image of the party worldwide and its leader, Xi Jinping.