BEIJING: A growing number of countries across the world have turned to Chinese COVID-19 vaccines as Western vaccine makers’ production and delivery hiccups hamper the fight against the pandemic in many countries.
Eastern Europe: As Hungary joined Serbia in spearheading mass inoculation with China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in Europe, other European countries are struggling against a vaccine delivery crisis and exploring a way out of lockdown and into economic recovery.
In around a month, 14 percent of Serbia’s 6.5 million population received their first doses of vaccine against COVID-19, thanks to the 1.5 million Chinese-made doses. Following its neighbor, Hungary on January 31 announced that it has reached a deal with Sinopharm, which will enable a mass immunization of 2.5 million people.
As the first shipment is supposed to arrive next week, Hungary is bound to become the first European Union (EU) member to sign up for Chinese vaccines.
“This deal will speed up vaccination, which could save the lives of thousands of people and contribute to lifting restrictions sooner,” said Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.
Also on January 31, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said he is “open” to the use of vaccines from Russia or China in Germany, while Markus Soeder, minister-president of the German state of Bavaria, called on the European supervision body to test Russian and Chinese vaccines “as soon as possible.”
A shipment of Sinopharm vaccines will arrive in Bosnia and Herzegovina soon too, as one of its two entities, Republika Srpska (RS), ordered them on February 8, Minister of Health and Social Welfare of RS Alen Seranic told Xinhua.
RS institutions have been following all the scientific effects and references of vaccines from all producers, including Chinese ones, and the efficacy, quality, and safety of vaccines are the three criteria that all vaccines entering RS must fulfill, said Seranic.
Earlier this month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron expressed openness of their countries to any vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which has so far only given green light to vaccines of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca.
The shortage of approved vaccines in Europe has been drawing increasing public criticism and prompting demands for alternative solutions.
Asia: Pakistan has become the first country to receive China’s vaccine aid after a batch of doses developed by Sinopharm arrived in the country on February 2.
With over half a million infections and more than 11,000 deaths, the South Asian country is struggling against the second wave of the deadly virus.
–The Daily Mail-CGTN News exchange item
