China firms race to find Covid-19 vaccine amid concerns by people given experimental doses of treatment, East Asia

BEIJING – The Chinese effort for a vaccine is heating up, as scientists continue to administer experimental doses of treatment in thousands of people in China daily. Their effort is being challenged most recently by American pharmaceutical firm Pfizer, which said early data on its Covid-19 vaccine candidate suggests 90 per cent effectiveness in phase three clinical trials. Chinese pharmaceutical companies Sinovac Biotech, Sinopharm and CanSino Biologics have been carrying out phase three clinical trials outside the country, but have been giving out doses of the experimental treatment in the country. This despite persistent concerns about the efficacy of the…