BEIJING (Reuters) – China on Wednesday said three drugmakers had submitted applications to supply their COVID-19 vaccines to the global vaccination system COVAX, in the country’s first formal step to deliver locally developed shots for the initiative.
Sinovac Biotech, China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) and CanSino Biologics have applied to join the scheme, China spokesman Hua Chunying said.
The COVAX scheme – led by the World Health Organization and the GAVI Vaccine Association – will begin exporting vaccines to low- and middle-income countries in February, with the expectation that two of the three billion doses will be delivered this year .
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that vaccine nationalism had put the world on the brink of ‘catastrophic moral failure’, urging countries and manufacturers to distribute doses fairly around the world.
Vaccines from Sinopharm and Sinovac are already being rolled out in several countries, including Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
None of the three companies has yet released detailed efficacy data of their vaccines to the public, but the early access to competitive shots developed by Western drugmakers has forced many developing countries to sign up for Chinese vaccinations.
Sinovac, Sinopharm and CanSino did not immediately comment on the timing of COVAX approval of their vaccines, quantities and what data they provided to COVAX.
COVAX was not immediately available for comment.
(Edited by Cate Cadell, edited by Louise Heavens and Jane Merriman)