COVID-19: China makes fresh promise on vaccine

China president, Xi Jinping, has promised that his country would make any COVID-19 vaccine it developed a “global public good”, once it was put into use.

Jinping stated this while speaking at the World Health Assembly on Monday.

China has five potential vaccines in clinical trials, as the world battles to find a solution to the pandemic, that has claimed over 315,000 lives globally.

In his speech, Xi said: “After the research and development of China’s coronavirus vaccine is completed and it is put into use, it will be made a global public good.”

According to him, this would be China’s contribution to achieving accessibility and affordability of a vaccine in developing countries.

Experts say it will take at least 12 to 18 months to develop an effective vaccine, or an even longer period.