Progress against coronavirus in China as new cases wane in epidemic hot zone
- Health official says country is pressing ahead with vaccine development and one may be ready for emergency use next month
- Special task force member signals that lockdowns could soon be over but stops short of saying when
In Beijing, Zheng Zhongwei, director of the National Health Commission’s Science and Technology Development Centre, said China was moving full steam ahead to develop vaccines for the coronavirus, which has sickened more than 90,000 people and killed over 3,000 worldwide.
“Our different approaches [to vaccines] are steadily advancing and [we are] following national laws and regulations [in our development],” Zheng said. “According to our estimates, we are hopeful that in April some of the vaccines [that are being developed] will enter clinical research or they would be of use in emergency situations.”
Under national regulations, vaccines developed for major public health emergencies can be deployed for urgent use under specified conditions, if the National Medical Products Administration considers that the benefits of the treatment outweigh the risks.
A sense of optimism was evident among Chinese officials as they outlined plans to ease draconian lockdowns imposed to stop the spread of the disease, which has been reported in more than 80 countries around the world since it erupted in Wuhan, the provincial capital, in December.