China works to make COVID-19 vaccines more available in developing countries

BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- China has been striving to make COVID-19 vaccines more available in developing countries, and has already provided more than 770 million doses of vaccines and concentrates to the world.

China ranks first in the world in terms of vaccines offered to the international community.

"China will do its best to help developing countries cope with the COVID-19 pandemic," President Xi Jinping said recently in a written message to the first meeting of the International Forum on COVID-19 Vaccine Cooperation.

China will strive to provide 2 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to the world throughout this year, and offer 100 million U.S. dollars to COVAX, Xi said, marking a further step by China in honoring its commitment to making vaccines a "global public good."

As of Aug. 4, 51.15 percent of people in high-income countries have been vaccinated, compared to just 1.36 percent in low-income countries, according to data released by the World Health Organization (WHO).

From vaccine development to vaccine application, China has always put people's lives first, and when some developed economies were stockpiling vaccines, China adopted an open and cooperative attitude, providing vaccines to developing countries in need, said Li Baodong, secretary-general of the Boao Forum for Asia.

Chinese vaccines have been added to the WHO's list of vaccines approved for emergency use and the COVAX program, and have so far been approved for use in more than 100 countries, demonstrating their safety and efficacy.

In addition, some Chinese institutions have joined hands with more than 20 countries in carrying out phase three clinical trials.

China also supports waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines for developing countries.