Four China biopharmas have dosed a total of 60,000 people in Phase III trials of their respective COVID-19 vaccines without causing any serious adverse reactions. The most common adverse reactions are pain and swelling at the injection site, followed by fever, all of which are mild. The news did not include any reports on the vaccines' efficacy, which must wait for more data. At a news conference, Zheng Zhongwei, head of China’s COVID-19 vaccine development task force, said China is expected to produce as many as 610 million vaccine doses by the end of this year

The reports come from trials that test vaccines from CanSino, Sinovac Biotech, Sinopharm-China National Biotec Group (CNBG), and the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products. Tian Baoguo, a senior official at China’s Ministry of Science and Technology, confirmed the number at a news conference and said, “Initial results show that they are safe.”

All together, there are eleven China-developed COVID-19 vaccines that have started trials, and many more that are in pre-clinical stage.

In addition, officials said people who received vaccines under emergency rules will not be included in trial. Several companies have started administering their vaccines to special groups, such as the ministry or business people travelling overseas.

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