Countries using Chinese vaccine now report surge in cases: Report

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Countries like Mongolia, Seychelles, and Bahrain trusted Covid-19 vaccines made by China to combat the coronavirus pandemic, but are now battling a surge in cases, according to a report in New York Times (NYT).

China kicked off its vaccine diplomacy campaign last year by pledging to provide a shot that would be safe and effective at preventing severe cases of Covid-19.

Now, several countries suggest that the Chinese vaccines may not be very effective at preventing the spread of the virus, particularly the new variants.

In the Seychelles, Chile, Bahrain and Mongolia, 50 to 68% of the populations have been fully inoculated, outpacing the United States, according to data.

“If the vaccines are sufficiently good, we should not see this pattern. The Chinese have a responsibility to remedy this,” Jin Dongyan, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong, told the leading US daily.

Seychelles, which relied mostly on Sinopharm, reported more than 716 Covid-19 cases per million. Mongolia, relying on Chinese aid, rolled out a vaccine drive and eased restrictions, vaccinating 52% of its population. However, it recorded 2,400 new infections on Sunday.

Bahrain and UAE were the first two countries to approve Sinopharm, even before late-stage clinical trial data was released. Since then, there have been reports of vaccinated people falling ill in both countries, the New York Times reported.

In a statement, China’s Foreign Ministry said it did not see a link between the recent outbreaks and its vaccines. It cited the World Health Organization as saying that vaccination rates in certain countries had not reached sufficient levels to prevent outbreaks and that countries needed to continue to maintain controls.

“Relevant reports and data also show that many countries that use Chinese-made vaccines have expressed that they are safe and reliable, and have played a good role in their epidemic prevention efforts,” the ministry said.

In Indonesia, where a new variant is spreading, more than 350 doctors and health care workers recently came down with Covid-19 despite being fully vaccinated with Sinovac, according to the risk mitigation team of the Indonesian Medical Association. Across the country, 61 doctors died between February and June 7. Ten of them had taken the Chinese-made vaccine, the association said.