The recent Covid-19 cases detected in Guangdong province are putting pressure on the local manufacturing industry as shipments of raw materials are delayed, and logistics companies and ports are facing longer waiting times and obstacles to deliveries. “Our productivity has dropped by 30% due to the resurgence of some Covid-19 cases, and tight electricity supply," Yin Xiandeng, Sales Manager at a medical equipment company based in Guangzhou, told the Global Times. “The transportation of raw materials is being delayed, the daily commute of employees is getting troublesome, and the nucleic acid testing of all staff is affecting production,” Yin said. Due to the need for testing, access to containers, airports and terminals is also limited, and that is adding one week to shipping times, Yin said. At Yantian port, which is responsible for more than one-third of Guangdong's foreign trade, operations have been slowed down, with crowded docks and delayed shipping dates. Many shipments have been moved to neighboring ports, which are now facing backlogs as well, industry insiders said. “We have to change sea-bound shipments to air freight to get European and U.S. orders delivered on time, which is an additional cost for the company,” Yin added.
China has approved a seventh domestically developed Covid-19 vaccine to meet increasing demand amid the country's accelerating mass vaccination drive. It was developed by the Institute of Medical Biology of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences based in Kunming, Yunnan province. Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials proved the safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine, which can quickly trigger an immune response in recipients. The vaccine requires two shots at an interval of two to four weeks. Production capacity is expected to reach 500 million to 1 billion doses per year. It is the fifth inactivated Covid-19 vaccine to obtain official approval in China, which will take China's production capacity of inactivated vaccines to about 6 billion per year, Tao Lina, a Shanghai-based vaccine expert, told the Global Times.
More than 845 million vaccine doses have been administered in China, covering 622 million people or about 45% of the population. The number of doses administered has continued to rise at an ever-faster rate since China hit the landmark figure of 100 million doses on March 27. It only took six days for the number of vaccines administered on the Chinese mainland to exceed 800 million doses from 700 million doses, and five days from 600 million doses to 700 million doses. At least 70% of the target population in China is expected to be vaccinated by the end of this year, Zeng Yixin, Deputy Director of the National Health Commission (NHC), said recently. More than 200,000 foreigners in China have been vaccinated against Covid-19, according to Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin.
Meanwhile, the Jiangsu provincial CDC is conducting clinical trials on a booster injection about half a year after the beginning of the inoculation drive. A total of 300 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 59 years old who have received at least one dose of an inactivated vaccine will be recruited in the trial. China kicked off mass vaccinations on December 15, 2020. CanSinoBIO and Sinovac have already conducted trials on booster shots.
This overview is based on reporting by the China Daily, Shanghai Daily and Global Times.
