China eyes COVID-19 vaccine by year-end or early 2021 -envoy

China hopes to be ready with a vaccine against COVID-19 by the end of this year or early in 2021, a Chinese official said Tuesday.

Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian said the third phase of clinical trials of China-produced vaccines in some countries started in June and could be completed by September or October.

"If the third phase clinical trial is successful then it will enter into commercial use," he said in an interview with the Daily Tribune.

He said four of the vaccines recorded by the World Health Organization (WHO) as candidate vaccines are being developed by Chinese manufacturers.

“I'm happy to learn that Sinopharm has already conducted the clinical trial for more than 30,000 people in UAE and among them, more than 1,500 people are Filipinos. I’m happy to learn that the trial is going smoothly. And the vaccine works quite well and no severe negative impact has been detected," he said.

"The research and development of China's vaccine strictly follow scientific and standardized procedures with strict safety and efficacy... as well as ethical reviews. Otherwise we cannot be chosen by WHO to be the candidate vaccines," he added.

China has earlier said it will prioritize the Philippines when it succeeds in developing a vaccine against COVID-19.

Last July, President Rodrigo Duterte said the country will be back to normal by December with vaccines from China. -MDM, GMA News