China says it got WHO support for coronavirus vaccine emergency use

CNN ^ | September 25, 2020 | Nectar Gan

[DoodleBob]

(CNN)China gained the "understanding and support" from the World Health Organization before starting a controversial emergency use program for its Covid-19 vaccine candidates, a Chinese health official said Friday.

China has been administering experimental coronavirus vaccines to hundreds of thousands of people since July under an emergency use program approved by the Chinese government, before their safety and efficacy have been fully proven by clinical trials.

Some experts and vaccine developers in the West have warned against the premature authorization of coronavirus vaccines before last-stage trials are completed.

Zheng Zhongwei, an official with China's National Health Commission, said Friday that China's cabinet, the State Council, approved a trial plan for the emergency use of Covid-19 vaccines at the end of June.

"After the approval, we communicated and informed the relevant representatives from the WHO office in China and gained the understanding and support of the WHO," he told a news conference.

At a media briefing on Friday, Dr. Mariângela Simão, the WHO's assistant director-general for access to medicines and health products, said: "Countries have autonomy according to their national regulations and legislations to issue emergency use authorizations for any health product, and China and other countries have already done so for different products. And WHO has emergency use listing provisions and has issued already several products for diagnostics."

[DoodleBob]

If this wasn't so serious, it'd be comical.

The vaccines, which have not completed Phase 3 trials, were developed by the state-owned China National Biotec Group Corporation, known as Sinopharm.

In a statement posted on Sinopharm's website this month, the company said its two vaccine candidates had been administered "hundreds of thousands of times" under the emergency use program approved by the government.

The vaccines were used on medical professionals, diplomats deployed to high-risk countries, and state-owned company employees working overseas under China's Belt and Road Initiative, according to the firm's general counsel Zhou Song.

"There was not a single case that demonstrated significant negative effects, nor was anyone infected," Zhou said in the statement.

[Cold Heart]

They did have a head start on a vaccine. Possibly they had it before they released the virus.

[ryderann]

The days of having ANYTHING from China in my house are over.

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

Saw a headline that said China misquoted the WHO official. IOW, more fraud from the CCP to its own people.

[AndyJackson]

China says it got WHO support

Did they get a clean bill of health from the Human Rights Organization over their treatment of the Uighurs in the bargain?

[Svartalfiar]

They did have a head start on a vaccine. Possibly they had it before they released the virus.

Just to emphasize this.