Workers transfer the China-donated Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines at the Phnom Penh International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Feb. 7, 2021. A chartered flight carrying the first batch of the China-donated Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Cambodia on Sunday, welcomed by Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen at the Phnom Penh International Airport. (Photo by Gao Bingnan/Xinhua)
With China projected to have at least three viable COVID-19 vaccines available to the public, China's airports are likely to see international cargo flights flood in to pick up COVID-19 vaccines in mid-2021, similar to scrambling for masks and other protective gears in the mid-2020.
Anticipating a surge in COVID-19 vaccine international purchases, Chinese vaccine producers have ramped up efforts to stretch production capacity without a break even during the upcoming Spring Festival holiday. Logistical services will experience peak-like volumes after the holiday domestically and internationally, as the vaccination campaign speeds up across the world, observers said.
The vaccine production capacity of one of China's leading producer Sinopharm can reach over a billion doses in 2021, Yang Xiaoming, chairman of China National Biotec Group (CNBG), affiliated to Sinopharm, confirmed again on Monday, promising that the manufacturer will ensure high-quality vaccines faster under safety standards.
Another leading producer, Sinovac, who received a conditional approval from the Chinese drug regulator on Saturday, told the Global Times that the company is constructing its third vaccine plant to increase production capacity. The company is working around the clock to prepare for mass production, even during the upcoming 7-day holiday.
The company has completed construction of its second plant which can raise the annual production capacity to over a billion doses after being put into operation in February, said Sinovac.
With the need to vaccinate hundreds of millions of people across the country as soon as possible, how to deliver the vaccines safely and timely to vaccination sites has become a challenge for the biggest-ever vaccination campaign. China's national vaccination scale is second only to the US at present.