Countries like Mongolia, Seychelles, and Bahrain used Chinese COVID-19 vaccines that were easily accessible for combating and normalising the coronavirus pandemic.
Now they are fighting against a rise in infections. Examples of several countries indicate that Chinese vaccines, especially new variants, may not be very effective in preventing the spread of the virus, reports The New York Times (NYT).
According to the data tracking project Our World in Data, about 50% to 68% of the populations in Seychelles, Chile, Bahrain and Mongolia have been inoculated fully with Chinese vaccines.
They are also among the top ten worship countries “We should not see this pattern if the vaccines are good enough,” said Jin Dongyan, a Hong Kong Virologist. “It is up to the Chinese to rectify this.”
With uncertainties about the new outbreaks in countries with relatively high rates of inoculation, scientists have pointed to a relaxation of social controls and careless behaviour.
Israel, the second largest vaccination ratio in the world, has 4.95 new COVID-19 cases per million, including shots from Pfizer from Seychelles. On the other hand, Seychelles, which mainly relied on Sinopharm, accounts for over 716 cases per million.
China and the more than 90 nations that have been shot by the Chinese can end up being completely vaccinated but partially virus-protected, fighting rolling lock-downs, tests and daily life limitations for months or years. In addition, economies might stay retained, NYT said.
Beijing considered its vaccine diplomacy a way to emerge as a global force from the pandemic. China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, has undertaken to deliver an easy-to-store, Chinese shot for millions around the world. Mongolia has rapidly implemented an inoculation programme and reduced limitations by using Chinese aid, vaccinating 52% of its population.
On Sunday, however, 2,400 new infections were recorded, which quadrupled one month earlier. China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that there was no association between the recent outbreaks and their vaccines.
It quoted from the World Health Organization that in certain countries vaccination rates had not been reached enough to prevent outbreaks, and that, according to the NYT, countries needed to continue controls.
Despite the spike in cases, the Seychelles as well as Mongolia officials have advocated Sinopharm to prevent severe cases of the disease.
Nikolai Petrovsky, professor at Flinders University of Australia’s College of Medicine and Public Health, said that the assumption of Sinopharm vaccine having a minimal effect on transmission curbing is reasonable with all the evidence.
He said a major risk for inoculation with China is the possibility of vaccinated individuals having little or no symptoms and spreading the virus to others.
