Photo: IC

Just a few days after the US presidential election, Pfizer announced that it has made significant progress in developing a Covid-19 vaccine. This is good news, but the timing is a bit odd. Then, Brazil halted Phase III clinical trials of a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine, citing "a serious adverse event." It is even more odd. I am very worried that politics and excessive pursuit of profit are very much involved in these announcements surrounding vaccines.

I personally have confidence in China's vaccine development and the overall seriousness of its handling of the pandemic. China's scientific research institutions were the first to isolate the strain of the coronavirus, and were the first to invest in vaccine development, all under strict national-level controls. Sinopharm announced that it has vaccinated 56,000 people with a vaccine they developed before they travelled abroad.  None of those vaccinated have had any serious adverse reactions, and none have been infected so far.

In addition, China has four vaccines in Phase III clinical trials in different countries. So far among them, only Brazil has made the sudden announcement in this way, at this timing. Because there still isn't enough information available, we need to wait for further information to be released.

The author is editor-in-chief of the Global Times. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn