On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said a group of experts with diverse backgrounds was working towards the development of vaccines against COVID-19 and it seems like China may have already found what could potentially be the cure to the deadly virus.
China has sanctioned early-stage human testing of two possible vaccines to combat the virus that has killed close to 120,000 people worldwide, state media Xinhua reported on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
China approves human trials of two experimental vaccines
The vaccines have been developed by a Beijing-based unit of the Nasdaq-listed biopharmaceutical company, Sinovac Biotech Ltd, which focuses on the research, development, manufacture and commercialization of vaccines that protect against human infectious diseases, as well as the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, an affiliate of state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group.
The report also added that the vaccine developers have the capacity for mass production if the outcome of the human trial is successful. Last month, China gave the go-ahead to another clinical trial for a coronavirus vaccine developed by military-backed China's Academy of Military Medical Sciences and HK-listed biotech firm CanSino Bio. This came shortly after US drug developer Moderna said it had started human testing for their vaccine with the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
Race to find a vaccine to end global pandemic
According to official figures obtained by the John Hopkins University, China has recorded more than 83,200 infections, while the death toll stands at 3,345.
The worldwide tally of infections has crossed the 1.9-million mark and although currently there are no vaccines for the coronavirus, scientists and researchers around the world are racing to find the cure to fight COVID-19 with as many as 70 potential vaccines in development, according to the World Health Organization.
"Our global connectedness means the risk of re-introduction and resurgence of COVID19 will continue," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a virtual briefing from Geneva on Monday. "Ultimately, the development and delivery of a safe and effective vaccine will be needed to fully interrupt transmission."
