Clinical human trials begin for COVID-19 vaccine in China

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Volunteers in China-Russia vaccine trial to be vaccinated by end September
By Hu Yuwei Source: Global Times Published: 2020/8/24 23:54:26

Vaccine Photo:VCG

Volunteers participating in a China-Russia COVID-19 vaccine trail are scheduled to have all been vaccinated by the end of September and results will be released by late autumn, Petrovax, a leading Russian pharmaceutical products developer, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Russia's Petrovax COVID-19 candidate vaccine is aa recombinant adenovirus vaccine named Ad5-nCoV, which was co-developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical firm CanSino Biologics Inc. and a team led by Chinese military infectious disease expert Chen Wei.

About a month after the volunteers have been vaccination, “we will begin to process and evaluate the results on safety and immunogenicity,” Petrovax told the Global Times.

“We see a great potential in Ad5-nCov vaccine and Petrovax has tools and knowledge on running large clinical trials,” said the company.

“We believe that the global community can overcome the pandemic faster and find an effective tool to combat COVID-19 only through international cooperation.”

The company didn’t mention how many volunteers are currently participating in the trial.

The volunteers will be monitored for six months after they are vaccinated, Petrovax said.

“Thanks to this partnership, Petrovax and Russian researchers are among the first in the world to gain direct international clinical experience in the use of a modern vaccine against COVID-19 and bring opportunities for its early registration in Russia.”

News of the potential vaccine was hailed by the Chinese public who are hoping for good results from trials. China’s top respiratory scientists Zhong Nanshan revealed the China-Russia cooperation on August 16 at an academic exchange conference on the coronavirus in South China's Guangdong Province.

Experts said the move is part of China's promise to pitch in to fight the virus globally. China and Russia have a sound basis for vaccine cooperation in resource sharing and mass production, they said.

 

[JSCh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1298973970952159233

Global Times @globaltimesnews
China state-affiliated media

#FosunPharma and its German partner #BioNTech announced Thur the supply of 10 million doses of mRNA vaccine (BNT162b1) for #COVID19 to #HongKong and #Macao, after clinical trials proved the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine and approval from the authorities is gained.


9:21 PM · Aug 27, 2020

 

[JSCh]

China's first COVID-19 vaccine made from insect cells approved for clinical trials
Source: Global Times Published: 2020/8/22 21:12:14

Photo:VCG​

China's first recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine made from insect cells has been approved for clinical trials by the National Medical Products Administration, media reported on Saturday.

Developed by the State Key Laboratory of Biological Therapy of Sichuan University affiliated West China Hospital, the vaccine uses insect cells to multiply in the culture medium and introduces the gene of COVID-19 into insect cells, which means the cell can be used as a factory to produce high-quality recombinant vaccine proteins and purify them for refinement.

The vaccine was tested on monkeys and other animals, and was found to have a good protective effect against COVID-19 infection, with no obvious side effects. The technology is expected to make it simple to quickly bring a vaccine to the market with mass production, Chinanews.com reported.

The safety of using insects to produce recombinant protein vaccines has been demonstrated by the successful development and marketing of cervical cancer and influenza vaccines in Europe and the US, media reported.

In April this year, The West China Hospital of Sichuan University, the vaccine research team and a biological company established a new company, which is planning and designing the vaccine production line with an annual output of over 100 million needles by independent efforts, Chinanews.com reported.

A Chinese inactivated COVID-19 vaccine has started phase-3 clinical trials in Peru on Thursday, Xinhua News Agency reported. Two months before, China's inactivated COVID-19 vaccine received approval for phase-3 clinical trials in the United Arab Emirates on June 23.

Observers believe that when a vaccine is available, China would provide vaccines to countries that cooperated with it in clinical trials at a cost, or donate vaccines to these countries.

Volunteers receive China's first COVID-19 vaccine candidate from insect cells
By Cao Siqi Source: Global Times Published: 2020/8/31 19:18:40

Volunteers receive China's first COVID-19 vaccine candidate from insect cells developed by the State Key Laboratory of Biological Therapy of Sichuan University-affiliated West China Hospital. Photo: Courtesy of the hospital

China's first recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine made from insect cells was recently injected in volunteers, who said they felt good and have had no adverse reactions so far, the Global Times learned from the vaccine developer on Monday.

Developed by the State Key Laboratory of Biological Therapy of Sichuan University-affiliated West China Hospital, the vaccine uses insect cells to multiply in the culture medium, and introduces the gene of COVID-19 to insect cells, which means the cell can be used to produce high-quality recombinant vaccine proteins and purify them for refinement.

The vaccine was injected in several volunteers on Saturday morning, according to a hospital statement sent to the Global Times.

Academician Wei Yuquan, the director of the lab, said the vaccine was approved for clinical trials by the National Medical Products Administration on August 21 after being tested on monkeys and other animals. It was found to have a good protective effect against COVID-19 infection, with no obvious side effects.

It is easy to mass-produce the vaccine, Wei said.

So far, four types of coronavirus vaccines in China have started Phase III clinical trials, and some will be injected in volunteers in early September.

Volunteers receive China's first COVID-19 vaccine candidate from insect cells developed by the State Key Laboratory of Biological Therapy of Sichuan University-affiliated West China Hospital. Photo: Courtesy of the hospital

The Phase III clinical trials determine whether the vaccine would be approved. It will verify the vaccine's safety and effectiveness, which requires tens of thousands of samples.

Media reported that the phase 3 clinical trials are expected to achieve preliminary results as early as of November.

Results of Phase I and Phase II show several vaccines have been safe and effective.

A document published by the National Food and Drug Administration on August 15 said a novel coronavirus vaccine should be able to provide protection for at least six months.

There are five main technologies for the development of COVID-19 vaccine in China - inactivated vaccine, recombinant protein vaccine, adenovirus vector vaccine, nucleic acid vaccine based on mRNA and DNA, and attenuated influenza virus vector vaccine.

Developers around the world are racing against the clock with 170 vaccine candidates. Among those candidates, four from China, two from the US, and one from the UK have entered the last phase. Russia's vaccine, Sputnik V, has recently been under the spotlight after the country announced on August 11 that it had become the first in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine for widespread use.

The State Key Laboratory of Biological Therapy of Sichuan University-affiliated West China Hospital starts research on COVID-19 vaccine made from insect cells. Photo: Courtesy of the hospital

 

[JSCh]

Chinese vaccine makers vaccinate overseas employees and military personnel
Source: Global Times Published: 2020/9/3 2:01:35

Photo:VCG

Chinese leading vaccine producer China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) signed an agreement with Chinese technology giant Huawei on Tuesday to facilitate strategic cooperation on resource and service support for COVID-19 inactivated vaccine, widely seen as a potential offer to extend vaccinations to more Chinese employees who frequently go abroad for business.

As the world's leading scientific and technological innovation enterprise, Huawei's business covers more than 170 countries and regions, Luo Wencheng, president of Global Administrative Services of Huawei, said on Tuesday.

More than 200,000 Huawei employees have been struggling amid the pandemic around the world, including countries and regions where the outbreak is very severe, Luo said. It is more urgent to ensure the life and health of employees through emergency vaccination in order to facilitate the resumption of work and production.

According to the agreement, Sinopharm will provide resources and service support to Huawei in the field of COVID-19 vaccines and other biotechnology products, to comprehensively safeguard the life, safety and health of Huawei's 200,000 employees, said the Statement of Sinopharm.

The inactivated vaccine produced by the company has been given to employees of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) preparing to go abroad. The vaccine has so far proven safe in human trials. It has also offered the vaccine free to front-line medical workers in some state-owned hospitals for urgent use, although it is still in late-stage trials.

Yu Xuefeng, head of another leading vaccine producer CanSino Biologics Inc, recently revealed that its recombinant novel coronavirus vaccine (Ad5-nCoV) has been given to Chinese troops on UN Peacekeeping missions, especially those in regions with high infections, after the company received approval in June.

Urgent use for Chinese in peacekeeping missions is a way to protect those staying in the region where COVID-19 is still rampant. "But we need more data from phase three clinical trials before we can commercialize the vaccine," said Yu.

 

[JSCh]

Sinopharm’s Covid-19 Vaccine to Start Human Trials in Peru After UAE
ZHANG YUSHUO
DATE: 2 HOURS AGO / SOURCE: YICAI

Sinopharm’s Covid-19 Vaccine to Start Human Trials in Peru After UAE​

(Yicai Global) Aug. 20 -- China National Pharmaceutical Group will kick off phase-three clinical trials of its inactivated Covid-19 vaccine candidate in Peru after doing so in the United Arab Emirates in June.

Local health authorities have given the Chinese firm, better known as Sinopharm, a permit for the tests, the Beijing-based firm said in a statement on Sina Weibo today.

Sinopharm expects to bring its first inactivated coronavirus vaccine to market by the end of this year, pricing the necessary two doses at less than CNY1,000 (USD144) in total, Chairman Liu Jingzhen said earlier this month.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1302149466275733505

 

[JSCh]

Chinese-made vaccine able to fight all mutations: developer
By Leng Shumei Source: Global Times Published: 2020/9/7 23:18:40

Will be ready for mass vaccination at low price

A domestically produced inactivated COVID-19 vaccine displayed at the China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing. Photo: Li Hao/GT

Chinese military infectious disease expert Chen Wei said a COVID-19 vaccine her team produced can be effective against all existing mutations of the novel coronavirus, noting that they are preparing for mass vaccination at a low price whenever phase three clinical trial results come out.

"We have complete IP rights of this vaccine, which means we do not have to rely on others and can carry out our own research and development (R&D)," said Chen, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a researcher at the Institute of Military Medicine under the Academy of Military Sciences, in an interview with Xinhua News Agency released on Monday.

She noted that "we can also allow Chinese people to get vaccinated at a low price whenever they need it."

The remarks came amid groundless reports from Western media claiming that China is stealing the US' research data on COVID-19 vaccines. Chinese medical experts rebutted the allegations and stressed that China is actually leading in COVID-19 vaccine R&D, not to mention that the two countries are focusing on different routes.

Undoubtedly China is among the first echelon in COVID-19 vaccine R&D as more than half of vaccines entering phase three clinical trials made public by the WHO are developed in China, Chen noted.

The vaccine Chen's team developed is a recombinant adenovirus vector vaccine named Ad5-nCoV. It is jointly developed by the team and Chinese biotech company CanSino Biologics Inc.

Tao Lina, a Shanghai-based immunological expert, estimated that Ad5-nCoV would probably be priced at 100 yuan ($14.64) per dose due to the lesser cost of the adenovirus vector vaccine compared to inactivated vaccines.

Some Chinese analysts also predicted that the price would not be too much higher than that of other respiratory infection vaccines - for example, the price of flu vaccines is roughly between 50-150 yuan in China - given the advantages of China's economic system as well as governmental support for major public health emergencies.

It is also possible that the vaccine would be offered to the public for free if there is another sudden outbreak in the country, analysts said.

Another Chinese vaccine producer the China National Biotec Group (CNBG), a Sinopharm unit, announced previously that two inactivated COVID-19 vaccines they produced would probably come onto the market by the end of December at a price of less than 1,000 yuan for two doses.

According to US media, the US federal government previously reached a deal with Pfizer and BioNTech to buy 100 million doses of their experimental vaccine candidate with $1.95 billion.

Ad5-nCoV was delivered into phase one clinical trials on March 16, making it the world's first COVID-19 candidate vaccine that entered clinical trials.

Graphics: GT

As the epidemic in China has been contained, domestic vaccine producers have been seeking international clinical trials to more effectively test their products' safety and efficacy, including CanSino.

International phase three clinical trials on Ad5-nCoV have kicked off in Russia and Pakistan, China Central Television reported on Monday.

In total, 40,000 adult volunteers around the globe will participate in the vaccine's phase three clinical trials, CanSino previously told the Global Times.

Chen told Xinhua that, unlike the normal procedures of vaccine production, they have been preparing for mass production at the beginning of the phase one clinical trial.

"It is possible to produce 300 million doses per year as far as I can see. After the phase three results come out, we will catch up to prepare for mass vaccination at anytime," Chen noted.

CNBG and a third Chinese vaccine producer Sinovac Biotech Ltd had also announced that they could each produce 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines per year.

Despite the shortcut in production preparation, Chen is confident of the safety and efficacy of the vaccine given the positive results of phase one and two clinical trials that had been unveiled to the world separately on May 22 and July 20.

The phase one clinical trial results of Ad5-nCoV were published on the Lancet on May 22, showing that all 108 volunteers had produced antibodies against the novel coronavirus after vaccination. It is the world's first results of human trials released on COVID-19 vaccines.

The results also demonstrated that the vaccine is able to introduce a dual immune response in the recipient, naming humoral immunity and cell immunity.

Cells are where the viruses reproduce, so cell immunity is really vital in preventing the virus, Chen explained to Xinhua.

Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet, on Twitter in May declared the results revealed that Ad5-nCoV is safe, well-tolerated and induces a rapid immune response. "These results represent an important milestone," said Horton.

Chen told Xinhua that they shared the data with the world so that her peers in other countries could avoid detours and accelerate R&D.

Chen said that they had started to vaccinate certain groups of people from June as phase one and two clinical trials proved the vaccine's safety and efficacy.

When asked what groups she thought should be given priority when a vaccine is available, she answered those directly having contact or people with the possibility of having contact with the novel coronavirus such as medical workers, virus researchers and customs staff.

People with underlying diseases should also be paid attention to as well as those who are willing to accept vaccinations, Chen added.

Effective against mutations

It has been six months since the first injection of Ad5-nCoV in March and the vaccine still remains effective as of now, according to Chen.

She estimated that the period of effectiveness of the vaccine would be as long as that of Ebola vaccines. The efficacy of a first dose of Ebola vaccine normally starts to wane six months after injection. If a second dose is injected at this time, the efficacy would last two years, according to Chen.

In response to increasing reports of mutations in the novel coronavirus, casting doubts upon the efficacy of existing vaccine candidates, Chen tried to ease public concerns saying that Ad5-nCoV can remain effective in fighting against all existing mutations of the coronavirus.

Current data shows a very low rate of mutations in the piece of viral DNA that we use in the vaccine. Even if a mutation happens, we can rapidly improve the vaccine based on its current design to adapt to the mutation, Chen explained, noting that this is the advantage of gene engineering vaccines and the reason why so many countries are exploiting the technology.

The vaccine can be made into different valents to include more strains of the virus, just like the human papillomavirus vaccines that have 2-valent, 4-valent and nine-valent types, Tao explained.

China will hold a ceremony to honor individuals and groups who fought bravely in the country's battle against the COVID-19 epidemic on Tuesday morning in Beijing. Chen is among the nominees who will receive the national honorary title, "the People's Hero" at the ceremony, along with top traditional Chinese medicine expert Zhang Boli and Zhang Dingyu, dean of Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital. The Medal of the Republic will be conferred on renowned respiratory disease expert Zhong Nanshan.

 

[JSCh]

Brazil could launch Chinese coronavirus vaccine this year, says governor, citing ‘extremely positive’ results | South China Morning Post

• Widespread vaccination campaign using Sinovac’s CoronaVac could begin as early as December
• Vaccine produced immune response in 98 per cent of recipients over 60, with no adverse side-effects reported so far, said Sao Paulo’s governor

Agence France-Presse
Published: 6:42am, 10 Sep, 2020

A nurse holds a syringe containing China’s Sinovac vaccine at a hospital in Porto Alegre, Brazil in August. Photo: Reuters

Clinical trials in Brazil of a Chinese-made vaccine against Covid-19 have shown “extremely positive” results, and a widespread vaccination campaign could begin as early as December, the governor of Sao Paulo state said on Wednesday.

Sao Paulo, the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic in hard-hit Brazil, is one of six states helping to test the so-called CoronaVac vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech.

The vaccine produced an immune response in 98 per cent of recipients over 60 years old, with no adverse side-effects reported so far, said Governor Joao Doria.

“The results have been extremely positive,” he told a news conference. “We will soon be able to immunise Brazilians in Sao Paulo and across the country with the CoronaVac vaccine … The projected delivery date is in December this year.”

Sinovac has partnered with a Brazilian public health research centre, the Butantan Institute, to conduct Phase 3 clinical trials of the vaccine – the last step before regulatory approval.

The deal gives the institute the right to produce 120 million doses of the vaccine, according to officials.

CoronaVac has become caught up in a political battle in Brazil, however.

President Jair Bolsonaro, whose administration has tense relations with China, has criticised the vaccine, and lashed out at Doria, a leading opponent, for supposedly backing it.

The far-right president has instead allocated 1.9 billion reals (US$360 million) to purchase another vaccine candidate, developed by Oxford University and pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca.

Trials of that vaccine, which is also being tested partly in Brazil, were suspended on Tuesday after a volunteer recipient developed an unexplained illness – a move the company described as “routine”.

Brazil has the second-highest death toll in the pandemic after the United States, with more than 127,000 people killed and 4.1 million infections.

The South American country has emerged as a leading testing ground for vaccines. In the latest development, Brazilian medical diagnostics company Dasa and US vaccine maker Covaxx announced a deal on Wednesday to conduct Phase 2 and 3 trials of the latter’s Covid-19 vaccine in Brazil.

Covaxx, a subsidiary of US firm United Biomedical, plans to test the vaccine on at least 3,000 volunteers in Brazil.

 

[JSCh]

China presents COVID-19 vaccines to the world
By Zhang Rui
China.org.cn, September 9, 2020

Three COVID-19 vaccines developed by Chinese companies went on show at the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS). Representatives from the companies told China.org.cn that their aim is to heal the world.

The three inactivated vaccines have been a highlight of the international fair in Beijing, with their display booths proving a big hit with visitors.

According to the WHO, more than 30 COVID-19 vaccines have now entered clinical trials worldwide. Among them, nine are already in phase III clinical trials, of which four are being developed by Chinese scientists.

COVID-19 vaccines on display at China National Biotec Group's booth at the 2020 CIFTIS, Sept. 6, 2020. [Photo/China.org.cn]
Zhang Yuntao, vice president of China National Biotec Group (CNBG), affiliated to Sinopharm, said that their two vaccines were developed by two biological products research institutes, in Wuhan and Beijing. They are currently undergoing phase III trials in several countries including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Peru, Morocco and Argentina.

Around 50,000 people will be vaccinated as part of the phase III trials, with 35,000 volunteers in 115 countries having already received the vaccination. "This proves the safety and efficacy of our vaccines," Zhang said.

"If the overseas clinical trials progress smoothly, the vaccine is expected to be available to the general public by the end of this year," he added.

CoronaVac, the candidate vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech, is also currently undergoing phase III trials in Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey, Bangladesh and other countries.

Yin Weidong, chairman, president and CEO of Sinovac Biotech, poses for a photo holding CoronaVac, the company's COVID-19 vaccine, at the company's booth at the 2020 CIFTIS, Sept. 6, 2020. [Photo/China.org.cn]

Yin Weidong, the company's chairman, president and CEO, indicated that their research in Brazil is progressing quickly and they plan to vaccinate 9,000 people there. "We hope to get clinical results in October, and get it on the market before the end of the year," he said.

Sinovac has obtained more than 20 different strains of the virus in the United States, Europe and Middle East, which the vaccine immune serum has proven capable of neutralizing. Therefore, it can be speculated that the vaccine will be able to protect a large section of the global population.

"The inactivated coronavirus vaccine can be stored for one month at 37 degrees Celsius, and its validity period has initially been determined to be three years," Yin revealed.

Pearson Liu, director of brand management and public relations at Sinovac, told China.org.cn that their vaccine received approval from the Chinese government in July for emergency use on medical, health and border staff as well as those needing to travel overseas for work. He added that more than 3,000 Sinovac staff and their families have also received their vaccine.

CNBG's vaccines were also approved for emergency use in July, and the company was taking reservations at its CIFTIS booth for those looking to get vaccinated. Jia Meng, the company's spokesperson, explained that their vaccines had received particularly high levels of interest from Chinese students needing to go overseas to study.

In terms of manufacturing capabilities, CNBG has established high-level biosafety production facilities in two research institutes. The combined annual production capacity of the two laboratories will reach 300 million doses in the first phase. After the second phase is completed, the annual output will reach 1 billion doses.

Sinovac launched its COVID-19 inactivated vaccine industrialization project at the end of March. It has now completed construction of a production lab in the Daxing Biomedical Industry Base in Beijing, which can deliver 300 million doses per annum.

Although it remains uncertain as to when the vaccines will eventually hit the market, Zhang Yuntao explained that many countries had already expressed interest. The CNBG executive added that they had received orders for a total of 500 million doses from dozens of countries.

Sinovac has also received large orders of intent. "The future application of vaccines will give priority to three types of countries,” Yin explained. “They are countries with severe outbreaks, countries with large populations, and countries without medical R&D capabilities and supplies." His company signed a deal and memorandum of understanding with Indonesian vaccine supplier PT Bio Farma on Aug. 20 to provide them with 40 million doses of semi-finished vaccines between November 2020 and March 2021.

While the price of COVID-19 vaccines has yet to be set, both companies told China.org.cn that they will be affordable for normal people.

Besides the three vaccines being shown at CIFTIS, other Chinese companies are also developing COVID-19 vaccines, with nine vaccines currently in various phases of clinical trials. The Chinese government has previously stated that after a vaccine is developed and put into use, it will be made available as a global public product to make China's contribution accessible and affordable to developing countries.

 

[JSCh]

China-developed nasal spray vaccine for COVID-19 approved for clinical trials
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-09 21:39:40|Editor: huaxia

HONG KONG, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The University of Hong Kong (HKU) Wednesday announced that the clinical trials of a nasal spray vaccine for COVID-19 jointly developed by the university's Department of Microbiology and mainland institutions have been approved.

The State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases has been working on the vaccine with Xiamen University and Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy.

It is the first nasal spray COVID-19 vaccine approved by the China's National Medical Products Administration for clinical trial in humans.

The HKU said in a statement that its vaccine strategy has been selected as one of the five vaccine technologies by the Ministry of Science and Technology for further evaluation.

 

[JSCh]

Sinopharm's Two Covid-19 Vaccines Have Worked for Hundreds of Thousands of People, GC Says
XU WEI
DATE: 22 MINUTES AGO / SOURCE: YICAI

Sinopharm's Two Covid-19 Vaccines Have Worked for Hundreds of Thousands of People, GC Says

(Yicai Global) Sept. 11 -- None of the clinical trial participants of China National Pharmaceutical Group's two inactivated vaccines have reported major adverse reactions to the jab nor Covid-19 infections, according to the developer's general counsel.

Hundreds of thousands of people have received one of Sinopharm's inoculation candidates without major problems, Science and Technology Daily reported yesterday, citing Zhou Song, corporate counsel of the Beijing-based firm's unit China National Biotec Group.

AstraZeneca said on Sept. 8 that the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company will need to take a break from its clinical trials after one person in the UK got seriously ill, US health news website Stat reported. This is standard procedure as the safety of new vaccines is key, according to the World Health Organization.

Among China's three inactivated Covid-19 vaccine candidates approved for clinical trials, two are developed by CNBG, said Zhou. The first recipients are people who are at risk to get infected with the virus due to their work as medical staff or diplomats, and they got their first doses months ago, proving that the vaccine is effective, he added.

 

[JSCh]

UAE approves urgent use of China-developed COVID-19 vaccine after test on 31,000 volunteers
By Hu Yuwei and Leng Shumei Source: Global Times Published: 2020/9/15 20:28:40

A staff member displays a sample of the COVID-19 inactivated vaccine at a vaccine production plant of China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) in Beijing, capital of China, April 10, 2020. Photo:Xinhua

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday granted emergency approval for use of a coronavirus vaccine developed in China, six weeks after human trials on the vaccine started in the country.

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention announces emergency approval for the use of the candidate COVID-19 vaccine, according to Twitter posts from the UAE National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority on Monday.

The vaccine will be available to the first line of defense heroes who are at the highest risk of contracting the virus, in order to protect them from any dangers and provide safety precautions, according to the authority.

The move is aimed at contributing to saving the lives of millions of people and providing health care for the infected while the Gulf state reported 777 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, making the number of total infections exceeding 80,000, according to the authority.

The drug is an inactivated vaccine developed by the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm). Phase III clinical trials on the vaccine kicked off in the UAE on July 16, which is the world's first Phase III clinical trial program on a COVID-19 candidate vaccine.

It had been used on 31,000 volunteers representing 125 nationalities since the clinical trials kicked off in the UAE. Mild and expected side effects have occurred but no severe side effects have been encountered, according to the authority.

Among the volunteers, 1,000 were suffering from chronic diseases and no complications occurred after vaccination, the authority said, noting that "the results of clinical trials in our country are moving on the right path, with all tests being successful so far."

Clinical trials on the vaccine tested in the UAE are also being conducted in Bahrain, Jordan and Egypt at the same time. The volunteers have now entered the next stage, receiving their second shot, and continuing to undergo regular monitoring and health checks, with full ongoing support provided by health services to ensure their wellbeing, read the statement, Chief Executive Officer of Group 42 (G42) Healthcare Ashish Koshy told the Global Times on Monday in a statement.

G42, an Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence and cloud computing company, is Sinopharm's partner that is leading clinical trial operations in the UAE under the supervision of the Department of Health of Abu Dhabi.

One of the company's advantages is that they can use AI and supercomputing expertise to process the trial results far more quickly than vaccine trials in the past, Koshy said.

In the G42 statement to the Global Times, an Emirati volunteer was quoted as saying that "I'm very proud to be taking part in the clinical trials. The medical staff have been very clear and helpful in explaining the entire process. I'm very optimistic that the clinical trials will be successful for the UAE and for humanity, and we will have a very successful vaccine against COVID-19."

Sinopharm developed two kinds of inactivated COVID-19 vaccines and the company previously announced that 100,000 injections of the vaccines have been given, and none of the people who received the vaccines have shown adverse reactions, with none contracting COVID-19.

Results of Phase I and II clinical trials on the two vaccines were released in June with 100 percent of volunteers generating antibodies after two doses in 28 days, the company said.

 

[JSCh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1307097067597303808

China Economy @CE_ChinaEconomy
China state-affiliated media

Turkey has begun first clinical trials of China's COVID-19 vaccine, testing it on 3 volunteers. Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said the trial of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine will be held in 2 phases: on 1200 volunteers in first round, and 10000 in second.


7:20 AM · Sep 19, 2020

 

[JSCh]

Shanghai study finds recovered COVID-19 patients have persistent immune protection
Source: Global Times Published: 2020/9/20 21:54:47

Photo:VCG

The latest Shanghai-based study has found that the majority of recovered COVID-19 patients have persistent immune protection and vaccination may trigger a durable immune response.

The results of the study were published in the Frontiers of Medicine, an international general medical journal sponsored by the Ministry of Education of China, on September 16, indicating that neutralizing antibodies that may provide protection for COVID-19 patients from a second infection can last around six months in those patients.

Based on the analysis of samples from three groups of patients: 15 cases at two weeks to one month, 20 cases at one to two months and 17 cases at six to seven months after COVID-19 infection, researchers found all plasma samples from 17 cases were positive for both IgG antibodies six to seven months after diagnosis, but the levels were lower than those in the samples collected at two weeks to two months after diagnosis.

The study also found that neutralizing antibodies, which are considered protective antibodies against the virus, existed among all the samples collected from eight cases at two weeks to two months and 14 ones at six to seven months after diagnosis, and they remain high at six to seven months post-infection.

The results could be of clinical relevance in assessing the possibility of reinfection and vaccination efficacy. A 33-year-old man living in Hong Kong was reported in August to have been infected for the second time this year. Media reports said that the man's second infection occurred 142 days after the first.

Similar individual cases were reported around the world later, which also triggered public concerns over whether a recovered COVID-19 patient could be infected for a second time.

 

[JSCh]

China's COVID-19 vaccines proven successful in clinical trials: WHO
Sep 22, 2020
CGTN

For more: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-09-23...

The World Health Organization (WHO) is working to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines globally, believing it to be the fastest way to end the pandemic and accelerate global economic recovery. China's vaccines may help realize that goal in the near future because some of vaccines have proven to be successful in clinical trials, said Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at WHO, on Monday.

 

[zectech]

Shanghai study finds recovered COVID-19 patients have persistent immune protection
Source: Global Times Published: 2020/9/20 21:54:47

Photo:VCG

The latest Shanghai-based study has found that the majority of recovered COVID-19 patients have persistent immune protection and vaccination may trigger a durable immune response.

The results of the study were published in the Frontiers of Medicine, an international general medical journal sponsored by the Ministry of Education of China, on September 16, indicating that neutralizing antibodies that may provide protection for COVID-19 patients from a second infection can last around six months in those patients.

Based on the analysis of samples from three groups of patients: 15 cases at two weeks to one month, 20 cases at one to two months and 17 cases at six to seven months after COVID-19 infection, researchers found all plasma samples from 17 cases were positive for both IgG antibodies six to seven months after diagnosis, but the levels were lower than those in the samples collected at two weeks to two months after diagnosis.

The study also found that neutralizing antibodies, which are considered protective antibodies against the virus, existed among all the samples collected from eight cases at two weeks to two months and 14 ones at six to seven months after diagnosis, and they remain high at six to seven months post-infection.

The results could be of clinical relevance in assessing the possibility of reinfection and vaccination efficacy. A 33-year-old man living in Hong Kong was reported in August to have been infected for the second time this year. Media reports said that the man's second infection occurred 142 days after the first.

Similar individual cases were reported around the world later, which also triggered public concerns over whether a recovered COVID-19 patient could be infected for a second time.

A few months ago, there was uncertainty about this. Good news.