Chinese company offers coronavirus vaccine to students

A Chinese drug developer is offering an experimental coronavirus vaccine to students going abro in a strategy health experts say raises safety and ethical concerns.

China National Biotech Group has two vaccine candidates out of five from Chinese developers that are in final sts of clinical trials. y are part of a global race to develop a vaccine that, if y are successful, offers fledgling Chinese industry potential for prestige and worldwide sales.

CNBG’s vaccine has been given to medical workers and employees of Chinese companies being sent abro under an emergency authorization for people in high-risk categories.

w, CNBG says it will provide vaccine for free to Chinese students who study abro.

More than 168,000 people signed up to receive vaccine via an online survey and more than 91,000 are being considered, CNBG said on its website. That p h been removed by Tuesday.

A student who is due to go to Britain said she signed up via online link after classmates said y received vaccine.

student, who would give only her English name, Sally, said she started to hear in September that vaccine was available to people such as her. She said or students said she might need to travel to Beijing, national capital, or Wuhan, where outbreak emerged in December, to receive vaccine.

ruling Communist Party declared victory over outbreak in March following anti-virus measures that isolated cities with a total of 60 million people. country has reported 4,634 deaths and 85,622 confirmed cases.

If vaccine works, it might help protect students going to Europe or United States, where pandemic is still raging, medical experts said. But y said developers need to make clear it is unproven and keep track of what happens to people who receive it.

If vaccine doesn’t work, n “this is giving people a false sense of security,” said Sridhar Venkatapuram, a specialist in bioethics at King’s College London’s Global Health Institute.

Chinese developers have anunced plans to test vaccines in Indonesia, Morocco and or countries. But ir approach also has prompted concern.

Papua New Guinea turned back a flight carrying 180 Chinese mine workers in August after y received a vaccine in a possible unauthorized trial. Papuan government demanded an explanation from Beijing.

“ manufacturer has an obligation to obtain follow-up information” from people who receive a vaccine, K. Arld Chan, a National Taiwan University expert on drug regulation, said in an email.

Failing to do that “is irresponsible and t compliant with international standards,” he wrote.

It was unclear wher Chinese students were being offered CNBG vaccine under same emergency authorization.

ncy that oversees drug and vaccine approvals, National Medical Products ministration, did t respond to questions sent by fax. CNBG did t respond to a request for comment.

A business news website named Star Market Daily reported Monday that anyone could sign up on CNBG’s webp to receive vaccine. It said students who plan to study overseas would get priority.

“Currently, it seems Chinese students going abro have a strong desire to take vaccine,” a CNBG employee was quoted as saying by a state-owned newspaper, Paper, based on survey results in September.

However, a separate report by Health Times, ar state-owned newspaper, cited unidentified sources in company as denying anyone could sign up to receive a vaccine in Beijing or Wuhan.

final st of clinical trials, conducted on larger groups, is used to find any rare side effects and study effectiveness of a treatment. first and second st trials are meant to determine wher a vaccine or treatment is safe.

CNBC has given vaccine to 350,000 people outside its clinical trials, a company executive said in September. trials have about 40,000 people enrolled.

More than 600,000 Chinese students studied abro before pandemic, according to Ministry of Education figures. y make up a large share of foreign student body in United States, Britain, Australia and some or countries.

Western universities are “t protecting ir students,” Venkatapuram said. “ company is basically offering its citizens protection going outside of China, which in essence is what any country would ideally be doing.”

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