Recently, countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Philippines have expressed concerns over the approval granted to Chinese vaccines and their efficacy.

China has developed two Covid-19 vaccines that have been approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO). These are Sinovac and Sinopharm. China has pursued an aggressive vaccine diplomacy with jab donations and exports to about 80 countries.

However, even after supplying Covid-19 vaccines to so many countries, its jabs have not been a confidence booster in many nations in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic, which incidentally spread from China to the rest of the world.

Concern over Chinese vaccines has grown in recent weeks. A spike in Covid-19 cases in Seychelles made global news in May. The country had the highest vaccination cover in the world with a majority of its population having received one jab or the other.

A majority of those vaccinated had received the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm. Its government had said in early May that 37 per cent of fresh infections were breakthrough cases — Covid-19 among vaccinated people.

Since then, countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Philippines have expressed concerns over the approval granted to Chinese vaccines and their efficacy.

In fact, in early May, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had apologised for taking Sinopharm vaccine in the face of public criticism for promoting an unapproved vaccine. A South China Morning Post report from May-end said Filipinos don’t want a Covid-19 vaccine, particularly a Chinese one, due to safety and efficacy concerns.

However, the most serious doubts over Chinese vaccines were expressed by Saudi Arabia, which is among the countries that have not approved Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines. India, too, has not opened up to Chinese vaccines.

Saudi Arabia recognises vaccination certificates for only AstraZeneca — known as Covishield in India — Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson vaccines.

People vaccinated with other jabs have to undergo a strict quarantine protocol in Saudi Arabia. This has become a huge issue in countries that are dependent on Chinese vaccines and have a large number of people slated to go on the Haj pilgrimage expected in July.

Saudi Arabia had suspended Haj pilgrimage for outsiders in 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic and an extra rush is expected this year. But concern over Chinese vaccines has forced Islamic countries such as Pakistan to reach out to Saudi Arabia for a solution.

The UAE and Bahrain have already announced that those vaccinated with Chinese vaccines would be given a booster dose of the Pfizer jab. The UAE and Bahrain had vaccinated their populations with Sinopharm vaccine but both countries recently saw a sharp spike in Covid-19 cases.

However, while the option of Sinopharm vaccine is still available to people but Pfizer’s dose is seemingly a preferred choice. A Forbes report said the decision to advise a Pfizer booster dose came in the backdrop of “a Covid surge five times as deadly as India’s despite having around 50% of its population fully vaccinated”.

The report said global concerns over Chinese vaccines “have festered due to a lack of public clinical data needed to verify manufacturers’ claims, deficiencies in the data that is made available and the widespread politicization of vaccines”.

Studies published regarding the efficacy of the Chinese vaccines have left doubts among experts about their effectiveness among those with co-morbidities and elderly people.

The WHO, in its analysis of the Sinopharm vaccine, echoed the safety concerns among elderly people saying, “Safety data are limited for persons above 60 years of age (due to the small number of participants in clinical trials).”

The WHO analysis also pointed that there was “no substantive data” to say whether the Chinese vaccine prevented infection and transmission of Covid-19. Course-corrections by Seychelles, Bahrain and the UAE may lead to more intense scrutiny of the Chinese vaccines in other countries despite the WHO’s emergency use authorisation.