COVID-19 Update: Two Inactivated Vaccine Candidates Approved for Clinical Trials in China

• There were 1,773,084 confirmed cases (76,498 new) globally, and 111,652 people (5,702 new) have lost their lives by 10:00 CET April 13, according to the daily COVID-19 situation report released by the World Health Organization.
• At the media briefing on COVID-19 on April 13, the WHO Director-General said, “Control measures can only be lifted if the right public health measures are in place, including a significant capacity for contact tracing.” The WHO chief also introduced the new strategy including six criteria for countries as they consider lifting restrictions.
• The Chinese mainland reported 89 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 Monday, according to the National Health Commission on April 14. And 86 of them were imported cases, bringing the total number of its kind to 1,464. Also on Monday, 54 new asymptomatic COVID-19 cases were reported on the mainland.
• Xinhua reported that China has approved two COVID-19 inactivated vaccine candidates for clinical trials, according to the State Council joint prevention and control mechanism against the coronavirus Tuesday.
• According to the regular press conference of the Foreign Ministry on April 13, China commends that Russia has expressed an objective and fair position. The Russian Foreign Ministry wrote on Facebook on April 12 that "attempts of some states to shift responsibility to others for the worsening epidemiological situation within their borders are worrying.

Xinhua reported that China has approved two COVID-19 inactivated vaccine candidates for clinical trials, according to the State Council joint prevention and control mechanism against the coronavirus Tuesday. The two vaccine candidates were developed by Wuhan Institute of Biological Products under the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), and Sinovac Research and Development Co., Ltd, a company based in Beijing. Clinical trials of the two vaccines have started. The two vaccines are China's first batch of inactivated vaccines for COVID-19 that have obtained clinical trial approval. Using killed pathogenic microorganisms for enhancing the immunogenicity, inactivated vaccines have advantages of the mature production process, controllable quality standards, and wide protection range. They can be used for large-scale vaccination, and their safety and effectiveness can be judged by internationally accepted standards.

According to the regular press conference of the Foreign Ministry on April 13, China commends that Russia has expressed an objective and fair position. The Russian Foreign Ministry wrote on Facebook on April 12 that "attempts of some states to shift responsibility to others for the worsening epidemiological situation within their borders are worrying. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said, "At present, the pandemic is spreading all over the world. The international community should work together to defeat this common enemy. China will continue to work with the international community, including Russia, to support the WHO's continued leadership in global anti-pandemic cooperation."

There were 1,773,084 confirmed cases (76,498 new) globally, and 111,652 people (5,702 new) have lost their lives by 10:00 CET April 13, according to the daily COVID-19 situation report released by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the report, no new country/territory/area reported cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

The Chinese mainland reported 89 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 Monday, according to the National Health Commission (NHC) April 14, and 86 of them were imported cases, bringing the total number of its kind to 1,464. Also on Monday, 54 new asymptomatic COVID-19 cases were reported on the mainland, while 67 were confirmed of being infected with the virus and 46 were discharged from medical observation, according to the NHC. A total of 1,005 asymptomatic-infected patients were still under medical observation. The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 82,249 by the end of Monday, including 1,170 patients who were still being treated, altogether 77,738 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,341 people who died of the disease. By Monday, altogether 1009 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 45 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 393 in Taiwan including six deaths. A total of 397 patients in Hong Kong, thirteen in Macao and 114 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.

At the media briefing on COVID-19 on April 13, the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “Control measures can only be lifted if the right public health measures are in place, including a significant capacity for contact tracing.” The WHO chief introduced the new strategy including six criteria for countries as they consider lifting restrictions. First, that transmission is controlled; second, that health system capacities are in place to detect, test, isolate and treat every case and trace every contact; third, that outbreak risks are minimized in special settings like health facilities and nursing homes; fourth, that preventive measures are in place in workplaces, schools and other places where it’s essential for people to go; fifth, that importation risks can be managed; sixth, that communities are fully educated, engaged and empowered to adjust to the “new norm.”