• About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Write for us
  • Contact
  • Terms of service
Saturday, May 28, 2022
The Millennial Source
TMS
Home WORLD

What could China’s approval of the Pfizer pill mean for the country’s zero-COVID strategy?

byThe Millennial Source
February 14, 2022
in WORLD
China Pfizer pill

FILE PHOTO: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) treatment pill Paxlovid is seen in a box, at Misericordia hospital in Grosseto, Italy, February 8, 2022. REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linkedin

The backstory: 

  • China is one of just a few countries and the last major economy to pursue a zero-COVID-19 strategy.
  • A zero-COVID-19 strategy essentially aims to eliminate transmission of the virus within the country and allow normal economic and social activity.
  • It is an approach that has led to scrutiny, with many saying that the country is increasingly isolated from the rest of the world. 
  • More recently, Chinese researchers have published a paper that revealed that, even if the global vaccination rate reached 95%, China would see 234 million infections within a year if it reopened to 2019 levels, including 64 million symptomatic cases and 2 million deaths.
  • “The human race should continue to develop vaccines and explore new ways to improve vaccine protection against infection in order to eliminate COVID-19 at the global level,” the researchers said. 
  • To date, China has seen less than 5,000 COVID-19-related deaths since its first major outbreak in Wuhan back in 2020. And because the country has contained the virus with mass testing and stringent social distancing regulations, including surveillance and activity restrictions, it now has relatively little natural protection from previous infections compared to other nations that have opted to live with the virus. This makes China uniquely vulnerable to the virus.
  • And the country has stuck to only domestically-developed vaccines and treatment methods and has not approved the mRNA shot co-produced by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE. In fact, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, licensed to Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. in China, submitted an application months ago and has not gotten rubber-stamped for authorized use within the country.

The development: 

  • Over the weekend, the Chinese government granted conditional approval of Pfizer’s coronavirus pill, otherwise known as Paxlovid. This is the first foreign pharmaceutical treatment method China has approved and endorsed for COVID-19, which helped quell concerns that the country was actively avoiding foreign treatment methods. 
  • According to the National Medical Products Administration in a statement on its website on Saturday, the import registration was approved on February 11, with certain requirements like follow-up research results submitted in a timely manner. 
  • With this, some say that it will help the country move away from the current zero-COVID-19 approach and make way for a more flexible approach. 
  • Hours after the approval was announced on Saturday, Zeng Guang, a former chief scientist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told investors in a briefing organized by Sealand Securities Co. that, “China won’t self-isolate from the rest of world and has various measures at its disposal to change tack. Strategizing precedes action.”
  • “This is an important milestone in our fight against COVID-19,” a Pfizer representative said in a statement. 
  • Pfizer has said its global supply of Paxlovid in 2022 is just 120 million treatment courses, making it unlikely that the company will be able to fulfill China’s demand. 

You drive the stories at TMS. DM us which headline you want us to explain, or email us.

Like TMS? Subscribe to our free daily newsletter

. . .

Related

Tags: COVID-19
ShareTweetShare

Latest Posts

Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific seeks to rehire ex-staff as part of airline’s “anticipated recovery”

May 27, 2022
Hong Kong COVID

Hong Kong border controls “unlikely” to be relaxed before June 30 amid “significant amount” of imported cases, says Lam

May 25, 2022
North Korea COVID

North Korea faces over 1 million infections and 62 deaths from recent COVID spike

May 19, 2022

The University of Hong Kong’s medical faculty warns people of a potential COVID cluster in Kennedy Town

May 13, 2022

Abandoning zero-COVID regulations could result in approximately 1.55 million deaths in China, says university study

May 12, 2022

Hong Kong will revisit discussions with China about opening borders quarantine-free

May 11, 2022

China tightens COVID rules despite consecutive drops in daily infections

May 11, 2022

China’s lockdowns are ineffective in the long run says White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci

May 6, 2022

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announces the second stage of COVID rules relaxation for May

May 4, 2022

SUBSCRIBE TO THE TMS NEWSLETTER

By providing your email, you agree to our Privacy Policy

The Millennial Source Ltd. 2021

No Result
View All Result
  • Your daily briefing
  • About us
  • Explore
    • Startups
    • Climate change
    • Tech giants
    • Crypto
    • The future of work
    • Banking giants
    • Economy
  • Lifestyle
  • TMS archives
  • Write for us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy & Terms

© 2022 The Millennial Source Ltd.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

string(24) "jsonld single post debug"
The Millennial Source
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.