Effectiveness Of Chinese Vaccines "Not High", Says Top Health Official

China has struck deals to supply many of its allies and economic partners in the developing world and boasted that world leaders - including in Indonesia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates - have taken the shots.

The head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention conceded that the efficacy of Chinese coronavirus vaccines is "not high" and that they may require improvements, marking a rare admission from a government that has staked its international credibility on its doses. The comments on Saturday from George Gao come after the government has already distributed hundreds of millions of doses to other countries, even though the rollout has been dogged by questions over why Chinese pharmaceutical firms have not released detailed clinical trial data about the vaccines' efficacy. China has struck deals to supply many of its allies and economic partners in the developing world and boasted that world leaders - including in Indonesia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates - have taken the shots. There have been signs that some countries remain skeptical: The UAE recently experimented with administering three shots of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, instead of two, over reports of low numbers of antibodies produced in some people, while Singapore has stockpiled but not usedSinovac shots.