Bloomberg:
China announced a vaccine passport last week, aimed to allowing citizens to travel internationally. That will only work if you can get other countries to recognize it. What outreach is China making on this front, and have any countries said they'll recognize China's passport?
Li Bin:
We are actively working in this field. First, we have paid close attention to the policies and measures adopted by each country after administering COVID-19 vaccines. This includes the international issue of recognizing people who have been vaccinated, which you mentioned. Second, we have been actively studying relevant policies, which are currently undergoing adjustments and improvements. Relevant departments of the interagency task force have been leading the work, and we will publish detailed rules once the policies have been approved. By adopting these policies, we aim to further promote COVID-19 vaccination, and boost international communication and exchanges. Thank you.
Cover News:
Besides the four approved vaccines which are already available on the market, how is the development of other vaccines progressing? It has been reported that teams headed by Chen Wei and Zhong Nanshan, both academicians with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, have deployed new vaccine research and development. What is the special significance of the new vaccines currently being developed? Thank you.
Wang Junzhi:
As we know, 17 Chinese COVID-19 vaccines are currently going through clinical trials, four of which have been approved under certain conditions, and another three technological approaches are either in phase 3 clinical trials or will enter phase 3 clinical trials shortly. The public are all very interested in their progress for the future. For these vaccines, two tasks must be accomplished before they can enter the market. First, we must ensure that the data on safety and effectiveness for phase 3 clinical trials meet relevant requirements. Second, we must complete the commercial-scale production process verification, and establish reliable quality standards. We need to collect sufficient data from clinical trials. This is not an easy task, because we have faced great difficulties in doing phase 3 clinical trials, which are done abroad. Once there is enough data to show that a vaccine is as effective as it is designed and that it has an acceptable safety profile, the applicant can submit the marketing application to the NMPA. The NMPA will immediately complete the reviewal process, and ensure that safe and effective vaccines can be available on the market as soon as possible.
