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Coronavirus pandemic
ChinaScience

Coronavirus: China set for 100 million doses of BioNTech vaccine amid roll-out of shots overseas

  • China poised to have a mix of foreign and domestic vaccine stocks
  • UAE has started inoculations using a vaccine developed under Sinopharm and the US, Britain and Canada have administered Pfizer-BioNTech vaccinations

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A nurse prepares to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Guy's Hospital in London, Britain, on December 8, 2020. Photo: Reuters
Simone McCarthy
China is poised to receive 100 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine from German company BioNTech next year, as vaccines are being rolled out around the world and countries are scrambling for access.
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On Wednesday, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group said it would buy at least 100 million doses of a vaccine from BioNTech for use in China next year, pending regulatory approval.

BioNTech has been developing its mRNA-based vaccine in cooperation with US company Pfizer globally, while the firm has partnered with Fosun Pharma, as the Chinese company is commonly known, for development and distribution in China. Both partnerships were arranged separately in March. The mRNA vaccine is a two-dose course, so 100 million doses would be enough for 50 million people.

02:29

Singapore first in Asia to approve Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine

Singapore first in Asia to approve Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine

The announcement about supplying China comes as much-awaited vaccines are starting to be administered in other countries.

The first shots of the Pfizer -BioNTech vaccine have been given in the United States, Britain and Canada in recent days, following emergency-use authorisation by those nations’ regulatory agencies.

BioNTech and Pfizer announced results from their phase 3 study of the BNT162b2 vaccine on November 18. They found the vaccine to be 95 per cent effective against Covid-19 as compared with a placebo. Results were published in the peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine last week.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates started inoculations using a vaccine developed under China’s state-owned Sinopharm on Monday, according to local media. Regulators in the UAE, where trials were carried out, approved the vaccine on December 9, with officials saying the vaccine was 86 per cent effective.
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