China has five COVID-19 vaccines in phase III clinical trials

China has five vaccines for COVID-19 currently undergoing phase III clinical trials in some foreign countries, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in Beijing on Wednesday.

A staff member displays samples of the COVID-19 inactivated vaccine at Sinovac Biotech Ltd., in Beijing, capital of China, March 16, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a news briefing that since the outbreak of the COVID-19, the Chinese government adopted five technological approaches to developing COVID-19 vaccines, namely inactivated vaccines, recombinant protein vaccines, adenovirus vector vaccines, vaccines using attenuated influenza viruses as vectors, and nucleic acid vaccines. He said that China is conducting research and development in an orderly manner.

He said currently China has five vaccines for COVID-19 that are currently undergoing phase III clinical trials in the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Pakistan and Peru, and some other vaccines that are undergoing phase I and II clinical trials.

China has always actively carried out international vaccine cooperation through multilateral and bilateral channels and maintained close communication and cooperation with international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Zhao said.

He said China participated in the WHO-sponsored Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator initiative, and joined the COVAX facility to promote the fair distribution of vaccines and ensure that vaccines are provided to developing countries.

Zhao said China expects its vaccines, after completion of research and development, will be included on the purchasing list of the COVAX initiative at an early date, to make its contributions to vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries.