AP: Chinese drugmaker setting up vaccine production lines
“A state-owned Chinese drugmaker is setting up production lines to supply 1 billion doses of two possible coronavirus vaccines that are being tested on 50,000 people in 10 countries, the company chairman said Tuesday. Testing by SinoPharm Group is ‘in the last kilometer of a long march,’ chairman Liu Jingzhen said at a news conference. He gave no indication when results are expected…” (10/20).

Financial Times: China’s Covid-19 vaccine diplomacy steals a march on U.S.
“China is promising preferential access to its Covid-19 vaccines to countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, as Beijing uses inoculations as a new tool to bolster its ties with nations neglected by the U.S. … China aspires to be a global vaccine supplier with four Chinese products now in phase 3 trials, the final stage intended to ensure safety and effectiveness before approval for public use. Although U.S. pharmaceutical groups including Johnson & Johnson and Moderna also have advanced vaccines in development, Washington has shown no interest in helping to distribute them overseas…” (Shepherd et al., 10/20).