17-10-2020
CoronaVaccine

A city in eastern China is offering an experimental coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine outside of clinical trials for around $60 to high-risk groups under an emergency inoculation programme, officials said, even as experts raised concerns over the mass rollout for an as-yet unproven vaccine.

The Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech�s vaccine called CoronaVac is being offered in the city of Jiaxing to care givers, especially epidemic-prevention workers, public service personnel and port inspectors, and will eventually be offered to regular citizens, the state media reported on Friday, quoting officials.

�The vaccine, developed by Chinese company Sinovac Biotech, will be provided to people aged between 18 and 59 at a price of 400 yuan ($59.5) for two shots,� the Jiaxing Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said, adding that the vaccine hasn�t been �officially approved for marketing� and is only approved for �urgent needs�.

However, the Jiaxing CDC did not specify what constituted as �urgent needs�.

Authorities also did not say how many people in the city will be given the vaccine, which comes in two doses at an interval of 14-28 days.

The Sinovac vaccine is in late stage trials in Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey, and the company has said that an interim analysis of phase 3 trial data could come as early as November, news agency Reuters reported.