BEIJING: Delta, the highly infectious coronavirus variant, has been reported in more than 90 countries and regions across the world, highlighting the urgency to mount a herd immunity defense through mass vaccination.
Some developing countries are left in scarcity of vaccines as certain countries have hoarded COVID-19 vaccines several folds more than the amount needed to vaccinate their populations.
To solve the problems of insufficient production capacity and an unbalanced distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, China has put forward its proposals on multiple international forums.
At the 73rd World Health Assembly in May 2020, China made a solemn commitment to making COVID-19 vaccines a “global public good,” offering its assistance in promoting fair accessibility to vaccines and affordability for developing countries.
At the Global Health Summit in late May, China called for the rejection of vaccine nationalism in a bid to make vaccines more accessible and affordable in the developing world.
China spares no effort to deliver on its promise in championing international cooperation in fighting the pandemic.
Despite a tight supply and huge domestic demand, China has provided over 350 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for the international community, including vaccine aid provided for over 80 developing countries and those exported to more than 40 countries.
China has also pledged to provide the first batch of 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to COVAX, an initiative aimed to promote equitable access to vaccines initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Most recently, the first batch of vaccines produced by China’s Sinopharm to be delivered to COVAX has rolled off the production line.
The vaccines provided by Sinopharm feature all-English packaging, a new technology that attaches temperature sensor to the vial, and updated product information in accordance with the WHO standards.
On June 1, the WHO validated the CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech for emergency use. – Agencies
