China dispatches vaccine, syringe aid to 66 countries

Photo taken on June 1, 2021 shows vials of the Sinopharm vaccine in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua)

BEIJING, June 7 (Xinhua) -- China has completed dispatching COVID-19 vaccines and syringes to 66 countries and one international organization as of Sunday amid efforts to provide vaccine aid and strengthen international cooperation, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said.

The MOC, along with relevant government bodies, will ensure that vaccines are delivered to recipient countries as soon as possible, said Qian Chunying, an official with the ministry, on Monday.

China is organizing and carrying out vaccine aid work for 88 countries and four international organizations, Qian said.

Official data showed the country has exported COVID-19 vaccines to more than 40 countries and has pledged to provide the first batch of 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to COVAX, an initiative aimed to promote equitable access to vaccines.

The MOC encouraged four vaccine manufacturers, granted conditional marketing authorization for COVID-19 vaccines, to actively expand exports and strengthen communication and cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) and COVAX.

"So far, three Chinese enterprises have carried out joint vaccine production with eight countries, while they are discussing cooperation issues with ten countries," said Mao Junfeng, an official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in a Monday interview.

According to Mao, there has been a significant increase in vaccine supply as manufacturers went all out to produce vaccines. The Chinese authorities also enhanced support on vaccine capacity construction, transportation, allocation, and quality supervision.

China will continue to encourage its vaccine manufacturers to transfer technology to more developing countries, Mao said.

The country will also support these firms in actively applying for the WHO's certification for more production lines and dosage forms, Mao added.