avvz021 ‘They Reled on Chinese Vaccines. Now They'e Batting Outbreaks. - The New York Times The New York Eimes sews com/2021/0 asiness ina vaccines-covid-outoreak html They Relied on Chinese Vaccines. Now They're Battling Outbreaks. More than 90 countries are using Covid shots from China. Experts say recent infections in those places should serve as a cautionary tale in the global effort to fight the disease. ‘Mongolia promised its people a “Covidfree summer.” Bahrain said there would be a “return to normal life” The tiny island nation of the Seychelles aimed to jump-start its economy. All three put their faith, at least in part in easily accessible Chinese-made vaccines, which would allow them to roll out ambitious inoculation programs when much of the world was going without, But instead of freedom from the coronavirus, all three countries are now battling a surge in infections. China kicked off its vaccine diplomacy campaign last year by pledging to provide a shot that would be safe and effective at preventing, severe cases of Covid-19. Less certain at the time was how successful it and other vaccines would be at curbing transmission. ‘Now, examples from several countries suggest that the Chinese vaccines may not be very effective at preventing the spread of the virus, particularly the new variants. The experiences of those countries lay bare a harsh reality facing a postpandemie world: The degree of recovery may depend on which vaccines governments give to their people. In the Seychelles, Chile, Bahrain and Mongolia, 0 to 68 percent of the populations have been fully inoculated, outpacing the United States, according to Our World in Data, a data tracking project. All four ranked among the top 10 countries with the worst Covid outbreaks as recently as last week, according to data from The New York Times. And all four are mostly using shots made by two Chinese vaccine makers, Sinopharm and Sinovac Biotech. “Ifthe vaccines are sufficiently good, we should not see this pattern,” said Jin Dongyan, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong, “The Chinese have a responsibilty to remedy this.” hitpsiwunytimas. com’202'106/22/ousinassfeconamylchina-vaccines-covd-ottoreak him\ focid&dhGD IWAR2DHMPUTKWxEmKQIDV7GKRCSXOT... 1/5arir021 -Avaclaton on Chilo sland, hi. n Che, the Seyeelles, Bai They Relled on Chinese Vaccines. Now They're Batting Outbreaks. - The New York Times. in and Mongolia 50:0 68 percent fhe populations have beer fly vaccinated. tara Vide Agree Scientists don’t know for certain why some countries with relatively high inoculation rates are suffering new outbreaks. Variants, social controls that are eased too quickly and careless behavior after only the first of a two-shot regimen are possibilities. But the breakthrough infections could have lasting consequences. In the United States, about 45 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, mostly with doses made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, Cases have dropped 94 percent over six months. Coronavirus Pandemic and U.S. Life Expectancy + 18-month drop in fe expectancy The coronavirus pandemic was largely responsible for shaving a year and aa from the life expectancy of Americans in 2020, the steepest drop in the United States since World Wa I, acorsin to ederl statistics released on Wednesday + Disparities, Black and Latin people have been asproportionately affected bythe ‘coronavirus. Latina and ican American residents of the United States have been tree times a key to become infected as thei white neighbors. And Black and Latine people have been nearly twice as Ikely ode rom the ius as white peosle + Infection rates. Higher ates of infection and mortality among Black and Hispanic [Americans have been explained by exposure on the job and at home, experts sai + Vaccination gaps. Commurites of color, which have borne the brunt ofthe ‘Covie-39 pandomic in the United States, have also received a smaller shar ot ‘available vaccines, hitpsiwu.nytimas.com’202"106/22/ousinassfeconamylchina-vaccines-covid-ottoreak him\ focid&shGD IWAR2DHMPUTKWxEmKQIDV7GKRCSXOT.... 2/5,artr024 ‘They Relled on Chinese Vaccines. Now They're Batting Outbreaks. - The New York Times. Israel provided shots from Pfizer and has the second-highest vaccination rate in the world, after the Seychelles. The number of new daily confirmed Covid-I9 cases per million in Israelis now around 4.95, In the Seychelles, which relied mostly on Sinopharm, that number is more than 716 cases per million, Disparities such as these could create a world in which three types of countries emerge from the pandemic — the wealthy nations that used their resources to secure Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots, the poorer countries that are far away from immunizing a majority of citizens, and then those that are fully inoculated but only partly protected. China, as well as the more than 90 nations that have received the Chinese shots, may end up inthe third group, contending with rolling lockdowns, testing and limits on day-to-day life for months or years to come. Economies could remain held back. And as more citizens question the efficacy of Chinese doses, persuading unvaccinated people to line up for shots may also become more difficult. One month after receiving his second dose of Sinopharm, Otgonjargal Baatar fell ill and tested positive for Covic+19. Mr. Otgonjargal, a 31- year-old miner, spent nine days in a hospital in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, He said he was now questioning the usefulness of the shot. “People were convinced that if we were vaccinated, the summer will be free of Covid," he said. “Now it turns out that i's not true” hitpsiwuwcnytimas.com’202"106/22/ousinassfeconamylchina-vaccines-covid-ottoreak himi focid&shD IWAR2DHMPUTKWxEmKQIDV7GKRCSXOT.... 315artr024 ‘They Relled on Chinese Vaccines. Now They're Batting Outbreaks. - The New York Times. Xi Jnpng, China eader, pledged to dtive a Chinese vacine ha eau be easly sored and transported to miions of people around the word He aed ia “global ‘ube 908" Andes Vert nse Beijing saw its vaccine diplomacy as an opportunity to emerge from the pandemic as a more influential global power. China's top leader, Xi Jinping, pledged to deliver a Chinese shot that could be easily stored and transported to millions of people around the world, He called ita “global public good” Latest Updates > sks in Texas, + Gow. Greg Abbott hars mandates fr vaccinations and + Demand for shots i inereasingin ess vaccinated states under siege from the Deta variant + Demonstrations against France’ vaccine pass surge fora third Weekend, even as cases rise. ‘Mongolia was a beneficiary, jumping at the chance to score millions of Sinopharm shots. The small country quickly rolled out an inoculation program and eased restrictions. It has now vaccinated 52 percent ofits population. But on Sunday, it recorded 2,400 new infections, a quadrupling from a month before. Ina statement, China's Foreign Ministry said it did not see a link between the recent outbreaks and its vaccines. It cited the World Health Organization as saying that vaccination rates in certain countries had not reached sufficient levels to prevent outbreaks, and that countries needed to continue to maintain controls. “Relevant reports and data also show that many countries that use Chinese-made vaccines have expressed that they are safe and reliable, and have played a good role in their epidemic prevention efforts,” the ministry said. China has also emphasized that its vaccines target severe disease rather than transmission, ‘No vaccine fully prevents transmission, and people can still fal il after being inoculated, but the relatively low efficacy rates of Chinese shots have been identified as a possible cause ofthe recent outbreaks. The Pfizer-BioN Tech and Moderna vaccines have efficacy rates of more than 90 percent. A variety of other vaccines — including ‘AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson — have efficacy rates of around 70 percent. The Sinopharm vaccine developed with the Beijing Institute of Biological Products has an efficacy rate of 78.1 percent; the Sinovac vaccine has an efficacy rate of 51 percent. hitpsiwunytimas, com'202"106/22/ousinass/econamylchina-vaccines-covid-ottoreak him\ focid&dhaD IWAR2DHMPUTKvxEmKQIDV7GKRCSXOT.... 4/5,artr024 ‘They Relled on Chinese Vaccines. Now They're Batting Outbreaks. - The New York Times. The Chinese companies have not released much clinical data to show how their vaccines work at preventing transmission. On Monday, ‘Shao Yiming, an epidemiologist with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said China needed to fully vaccinate 80 to 85 percent of its population to achieve herd immunity, revising a previous official estimate of 70 percent. Data on breakthrough infections has not been made available, either, though a Sinovac study out of Chile showed that the vaccine was less effective than those from Pfizer-BioN Tech and Moderna at preventing infection among vaccinated individuals. Understand the State of Vaccine Mandates in the U. » College and universities, More than 400 colleges and universities are requiring “students tobe vaccinate fr Covid-18, Almost ll ae in states that voted for President iden, + Hospitals and medical centers. Many hospitals and major health systems are requiring employees to get the Cavid-19 vaccine, citing rising caseloads fueled by ‘the Dota variant and stubbornly ow vaccination rates in their communities, even Within their work force. In N.C, workers in ciy-ran hospitals ans heal clinics willbe require to get vaccinated or ele get tested on a weekly basis. + Federal employees. President Biden announced that all civilian federal ‘employees must be vaccinated against te coronavirus or be forced to submit to regula testing, social cstancng, mask requirements and resctions on most ‘navel. State worker in New York wl face similar restriction. + Can your employer require a vaccine? Companies can require workers entering the worapace tobe vaccinated against the coronavinus, according to recent US, ‘government guidance. A representative from Sinopharm hung up the phone when reached for comment. Sinovae did not respond to a request for comment. William Schaffner, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University, said the efficacy rates of Chinese shots could be low enough “to sustain some transmission, as well as create illness ofa Substantial amount in the highly vaccinated population, even though it keeps people largely out of the hospital” hitpsiwuw.nytimas.com’202 106/22/ousinassleconamylchina-vaccines-covid-ottoreak him\ focid&dhGD IWAR2DHMPUTKWxEmKQIDV7GKRCSXOT.... SIS