Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech has secured half a billion dollars in extra funding to produce its Covid-19 vaccine, it said Monday, as the country races to roll out a jab for general use.

Beijing has largely brought the virus under control, with only 281 active cases still receiving treatment, according to official figures.

But it has promised to make its vaccines available as a "global public good" as it seeks to counter global criticism for its early handling of the pandemic.

Sino Biopharmaceutical Limited, a Hong Kong-listed medical research firm, said on Monday that it will invest $515 million for the development and production of CoronaVac, one of Sinovac's most advanced vaccine candidates.

Sinovac — one of China's leading vaccine producers — said the funding will be used for the "further development, capacity expansion and manufacturing" of CoronaVac.

It added it hoped to be able to manufacture 600 million doses by the end of the year.

Sino Biopharmaceutical will receive a 15 percent share in a Sinovac subsidiary, Sinovac Life Sciences, under the agreement.

Although regulators have yet to approve China's vaccines for mass distribution, the country has approved some advanced candidates for emergency use. Since July a range of people from state employees to international students have been given jabs.

CoronaVac is being tested in multiple countries including Brazil, where final-stage clinical trials for the jab have restarted after hitting a setback in November when a volunteer experienced an "adverse incident."

The vaccine "has reached critical milestones in clinical trials in Asia and Latin America," Sinovac CEO Yin Weidong said in the statement.

The company earlier said almost all its employees and their families have voluntarily taken the vaccine.

Sinopharm, another Chinese vaccine maker, said in November that nearly a million people have already taken its experimental Covid-19 vaccine.

Last week Britain became the first Western country to approve a vaccine for general use, piling pressure on other countries to follow suit swiftly.

Indonesia receives over a million Chinese Covid-19 vaccine doses
Jakarta (AFP) Dec 7, 2020 –

Indonesia has received 1.2 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine made by China's Sinovac, officials said, as the world's fourth most populous nation struggles to get soaring case rates under control.

The doses arrived in Jakarta late Sunday on a flight from Beijing, with another 1.8 million expected to be sent again next month.

Although Chinese regulators have yet to clear any of country's vaccines for mass distribution, they have approved some advanced candidates for emergency use.

On Monday, Indonesia's Covid-19 response team chief Airlangga Hartarto said the first batch of doses will be examined by the food and drug agency, with plans to distribute them to medical workers and other high-risk groups.

The country's top Muslim clerical body, the Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI), will also check the first consignment, officials said — to ensure it meets halal requirements in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation.

Late Sunday, President Joko Widodo welcomed the delivery.

"We are grateful that the vaccine is now available and we can immediately prevent the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak," he said.

"(But) I have to reiterate, first, that all procedures must be followed properly to ensure public health and safety, and the efficacy of the vaccine," he added.

In August, Indonesia launched human trials of the Sinovac-made jab, with around 1,600 volunteers taking part in the six-month study.

The Indonesian government has paid some 637 billion rupiah ($45 million) for the three million Sinovac doses. Another 100,000 more are set to be delivered by another Chinese firm, CanSino.

China has promised to make its vaccines available as a "global public good" as it seeks to counter global criticism for its early handling of the pandemic.

"We expect that multilateral vaccines [from other countries] will also start to arrive gradually in 2021," Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Monday.

Indonesia has been in talks with other pharmaceutical firms, including UK-based AstraZeneca.

The country is one of the Asian nations worst hit by the pandemic, with Covid-19 infections topping 575,000, and more than 17,000 deaths.

However, the true scale of the crisis is widely believed to be much bigger, as the country has one of the world's lowest testing rates.