AUKUS plans to provide nuclear submarines to Australia seriously endangers nuclear non-proliferation

https://youtu.be/6XVxdoHoMBM

 

 

The world needs to prepare for the arrival of the coming nuclear submarine craze

  

The Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Tennessee returns to Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia, U.S., Feb. 6, 2013. (Xinhua/REUTERS

The US, UK, and Australia have announced the establishment of a security alliance known as AUKUS. One of the key elements of this military alliance is that Washington and London will help Canberra develop nuclear-powered submarines.

It is an act by the US and UK, two nuclear-weapon states, to secretly support and provide carriers of weapons of mass destruction, nuclear technology, and nuclear materials to Australia, a non-nuclear-weapon state, within the Anglosphere. But the move apparently runs counter to the objectives and core obligations set by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

First, the AUKUS move will lead to the proliferation of carriers of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the world. Although the nuclear-powered submarine is not a type of nuclear weapon itself, it still has the potential to carry nuclear weapons. It also belongs to an important platform for carrying WMD.

There are only six countries in the world that have nuclear submarines, including China, the US, Russia, the UK, France, and India, all of which possess nuclear weapons as well. It is clear that nuclear-powered submarines and nuclear weapons are inextricably linked with each other.b

Second, AUKUS will spread fissionable material that could be used to make nuclear weapons. The second paragraph of Article III of the NPT states that each member party to the Treaty undertakes not to provide special fissionable material to any non-nuclear-weapon state unless subject to various safeguards.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has no authority to supervise nuclear materials for submarines because of their military implications, which has objectively created conditions for Australia to make nuclear weapons. In history, Australia once planned to build up its own nuclear arsenal, while the UK conducted its first nuclear test in Australia in 1952.

Third, the partnership between the UK, the US and Australia may lead to the proliferation of uranium enrichment technology.

Washington and London's nuclear-powered submarines run on highly enriched uranium, while Canberra is rich in uranium deposits. If the US and the UK transfer the uranium-enriching technology to Australia to help it become self-sufficient in nuclear fuel, it would be no better than the international nuclear black market reported by the media in the early 2000s.

Fourth, the AUKUS move will negatively impact the international nuclear non-proliferation regime. Since Australia can openly acquire nuclear materials by developing nuclear-powered submarines, other non-nuclear-weapon states may follow suit, resulting in the endless risks of nuclear proliferation on our living planet. Therefore, James Acton, co-director of the nuclear policy program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, called the recent action of the three countries "a terrible precedent."

And, finally, the trilateral security partnership is almost certain to trigger a regional arms race.

Canberra's peace record in the Indo-Pacific region is not unblemished. There were Australian troops participating in unjust wars in countries such as Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. Thus, Australia's enhanced underwater attack capability is no good news for its neighbors that may be forced into a vicious circle of the arms race to protect their own national security.

Looking at the latest changes in nuclear policies of the US and the UK, it is needless to say that what these countries have done has disappointed the world. US President Joe Biden once campaigned in his election campaign to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in the US security policy. However, less than eight months after entering the White House, he is eating his campaign pledge.

The same is also true with the UK. In March this year, the country adjusted its nuclear strategy drastically and took a significant step backward in its nuclear arms control. It not only increased its nuclear weapon stockpile cap from 180 to 260 warheads, but moved to lowered the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.

Peace, development, and nuclear non-proliferation are what most countries in the world yearn for. The actions of the US, the UK, and Australia to challenge the bottom line of nuclear non-proliferation, won't bode well for our living world.

The author is director of Arms Control Studies Center, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

 

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Why Europe gravitates away from US to Eastern power center: Martin Jacques

 

What will happen to Europe? Will it continue with a broadly pro-American orientation, or will it pursue an increasingly independent position?

Either way, the consequences will be far-reaching. At the heart of the West lie the US and Europe. If Europe seeks a more autonomous role, then the West will be seriously weakened.

The end of the Cold War marked a major moment in US-Europe relations. Europe was no longer dependent on the US for its defense and ever since, slowly but remorselessly, a growing distance has opened up between them. This was accelerated by two key events ̶ the US invasion of Iraq, opposed by most Europeans, and the Donald Trump phenomenon, which most Europeans found beyond the pale.

President Joe Biden wants to mend the fences and return to something closer to the pre-Trump relationship. He may have some success because, unlike Trump, Biden will seek to befriend rather than castigate Europe. But there will be no simple return to the pre-Trump era: too much has happened, too much has changed.

A recent opinion poll by the European Council on Foreign Relations across 11 European countries reveals what can only be described as a sea-change in European attitudes in the post-Trump era. Six in 10 Europeans believe that the US political system is broken and that China will become a stronger power than the US in the next10 years. A majority now want their country to remain neutral in any conflict between the US and China.

A majority of Germans believe that, after voting for Trump in 2016, Americans can no longer be trusted; across Europe likewise more people agreed than disagreed with this statement. The survey grouped the respondents into four categories. The smallest, 9 percent of the total, believed that the EU was broken and the US would bounce back. A second group, around 20 percent of the total, believed that both the US and the EU would continue to thrive. A third group, 29 percent of the total, thought that both the US and the EU were broken and declining. A fourth group, 35 percent of the total, believed that the EU was healthy, but the US was broken. The latter two groups, almost two-thirds of the total, expected that the US would soon be displaced by China.

There has clearly been a profound shift in European attitudes consequent upon the decline of the West since the 2008 financial crisis, the Trump presidency and the rise of China. These, we must remind ourselves, are very recent developments which have happened with remarkable speed. Far from reinforcing the Atlantic alliance and the relationship with the US, their main impact on Europeans has been to weaken those bonds, elicit a growing acknowledgement that the world has changed profoundly and foster a belief that Europe needs to be more independent. Of course, these trends are still young and fluid. Many conflicting forces are at work with attitudes ebbing and flowing both within and between countries. Criticism of China has grown apace in the recent period in Europe, as it has in the US. But there is one fundamental difference. While the US is bent on defending its global primacy, Europe long ago abandoned any such pretensions, thereby greatly reducing the sources of friction and animosity between it and China in comparison with the US.

The survey reveals that by far the dominant trend is toward a more independent-minded Europe, a growing skepticism about the US and a sign of recognition that China will soon become the dominant power in the world. The European leader who most symbolizes this outlook, and has pioneered this way of thinking, is German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The recently agreed EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, very much in Merkel's image, is a powerful demonstration of the EU's willingness to pursue its own independent relationship with China rather than following the Americans.

The trend toward a growing distance between Europe and the US will be slow, tortuous, conflict-riddled, and painful. Europe has looked westward across the Atlantic ever since Christopher Columbus. It was European settlers who colonized Northeast America and subsequently established the US. The latter was a European creation which over time was to outperform its ancestral continent. If Europe colonized much of the world, the post-1945 world order was a Western creation, with the US the dominant partner and Europe very much a junior partner. In sum, an enormous historical, intellectual, political and cultural hinterland binds the US and Europe together. But we are now in new territory. American decline means that it has increasingly less to offer Europe.

The gravitational pull of China, and Asia more generally, is drawing Europe eastward. Nothing illustrates this phenomenon better than the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. Slowly but surely, bit by bit, Europe is becoming more and more involved ̶ first the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, then Portugal, Greece and Italy, and others over time will in all likelihood follow. What drew Europe westward is now drawing it eastward: the centre of gravity of the global economy, once in the west, is now in the east.

The author was until recently a Senior Fellow at the Department of Politics and International Studies at Cambridge University. He is a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Modern International Relations at Tsinghua University and a Senior Fellow at the China Institute, Fudan University. Follow him on twitter @martjacques. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

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Europe goes its own way on China

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EVER since Joe Biden won the US presidency, the rhetoric from Europe’s leaders has been filled with anticipation of a new transatlantic dawn. With Donald Trump out of the White House, Europe signalled that it would again link arms with America, bound by common ideals and a firm resolve to “save the world from its bad angels”. 

“The United States is back. And Europe stands ready,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had declared on Biden’s inauguration day. 

But given the opportunity in recent weeks to show the Biden administration it was serious about geostrategic collaboration, Europe opted instead to “show Washington the finger”, said Politico.

According to the political journal, a consensus has emerged among transatlantic strategic thinkers in recent years that the West faces two major threats to its security: old nemesis Russia and China, the global power the US sees as the much greater challenge over the long term. 

As White House press secretary Jen Psaki said: “Beijing is now challenging our security, prosperity and values in significant ways that require a new US approach.”

But Europe appears to have its own ideas, as seen in how the regional bloc has continued to pursue its own course on China in the face of American reservations. 

In late December, for example, the European Union agreed to a landmark investment pact with China, ignoring objections from across the Atlantic and requests from the Biden camp to hold off until the new administration was in office. 

Then at the the Davos World Economic Forum last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected calls for Europe to pick sides between the US and China, in a nod to the plea made by Chinese President Xi Jinping a day earlier.

While Biden is looking to group together democracies to contain China, Merkel was pointedly wary about the formation of factions.

“I would very much wish to avoid the building of blocs,” said Merkel. “I don’t think it would do justice to many societies if we were to say this is the United States and over there is China and we are grouping around either the one or the other. This is not my understanding of how things ought to be.”

 

Referring to Xi’s speech at the same forum, Merkel said: “The Chinese president spoke yesterday, and he and I agree on that. We see a need for multilateralism.”

Merkel is far from alone in Europe in not wanting to join a more robust US approach toward Beijing. Paris and Rome broadly share Merkel’s position. 

On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron echoed Merkel’s statement that the EU shouldn’t gang up on China with the US, even if it stands closer to Washington by virtue of shared values.

“A situation to join all together against China, this is a scenario of the highest possible conflictuality. This one, for me, is counterproductive,” Macron said during a discussion broadcast by Washington-based think tank the Atlantic Council.

This kind of common front against China risks pushing Beijing to lower its cooperation on issues like combating climate change, added the French president.

Macron was the first European leader to make it a point to engage with China as a European bloc by including Merkel and then-EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker during a bilateral visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to France in March 2019.

Macron and European partners didn’t share the Trump administration’s outwardly aggressive stance on China, instead theorising that it was at once a “partner, competitor and systemic rival.”

And now it looks like they do not want to go back to the “old normal” either, where US led in the us-versus-them global politics.

Whether Europe’s decision to effectively de-couple from the US foreign policy agenda before Biden’s administration has really even begun is born out of a desire to achieve the dream of “strategic autonomy,” concern that Donald Trump could return in four years, or some combination thereof may not matter in the end. 

As the strategic rivalry between the US and China comes into focus, Europe is adamant to stay on the sidelines and remain neutral. – Agencies

 

 

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China needs to lead global vaccinations

 

COVID-19 pandemic: From 1 to 100 million

 


https://youtu.be/_D4d9OXz8V8

As of Wednesday Beijing time, over 100 million people around the world have been infected with COVID-19, with over 2.15 million deaths. The severest pandemic since the beginning of the 21st century has brought great sufferings to the people and incurred huge losses. It has provided lessons.

As World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on Twitter, "Numbers can make us numb to what they represent: every death is someone's parent, someone's partner, someone's child, someone's friend." After all, humanity shouldn't be numb. We must keep the thirst for humanitarianism and always spare no efforts. Humanity must not connive in the growing number of deaths - it is a shame of the modern civilization.

Many lessons can be drawn from the COVID-19 pandemic that manages to rage across the globe. The biggest one is that we humans should have made full use of the capabilities to contain the pandemic, but the interference of politics with science and the resulting disunity among major countries have allowed the coronavirus to take advantage. What was supposed to be a unified war against the epidemic has become separate wars within different countries and regions. The problem is clear for all to see, but we have not yet been able to mend the fold quickly enough to build the collective human solidarity that was so badly needed.

Within many countries, too, it has been difficult to forge consensus and solidarity around the pandemic prevention routes. How to coordinate the fight against the epidemic and to boost economic recovery has become a common question. In this process, the opinions of scientists are often marginalized, and some influential politicians put non-scientific considerations first at the critical moment, leading the fight against the pandemic to go astray.

The ravaging epidemic has also exposed the fragility of economic activity and the way human society is organized. Most societies in general are poor in vigilance to disasters with a lack of mobilization, and dependent too much on fair weather for prosperity. The pandemic this time showed the destructive power of a public health crisis at a time when the world's population is growing and more socially intense. Human society must increase its investment in public safety.

After a terrible year, we are now at a new stage of the pandemic. Vaccines at this stage have the potential to revolutionize the fight against the pandemic and reshape the global structure.

China is a large populous country. It has achieved outstanding success in the last round of the epidemic fight, laying a sound foundation for the next stage of the war against the coronavirus. The country is also at the forefront of vaccine research and development. Next, we must create the fastest vaccination rate and stand at the front ranks on the herd immunity list. This is a new test for China.

We contained the epidemic without vaccines in the last round of the virus fight. We cannot continue such an advantage. The speed of vaccine promotion will greatly affect the opening-up of all societies in the future. The US and European societies suffered heavy losses last year, but at the same time they have developed relatively strong endurance toward the pandemic. If their vaccination is fast, this will promote mutual opening-up among them, which will exert pressure on countries which are slow in vaccination.

Only by getting vaccination rates in China roughly on par with the rates in the US and European countries, along with keeping the social distancing capabilities we already have, can China continue to lead in being open in the future and further provide the greatest impetus for the recovery of the global economy.

Before the next winter comes, China needs to strive to get the majority of the vulnerable and high-risk groups vaccinated and to expand the vaccination coverage to the general population. We need to guarantee the total number of people vaccinated in China several times higher than the number in the US.

China also needs to provide large quantities of vaccines to developing countries, and the total number of vaccines exported should be the largest. This is the role China should play as a major manufacturing country, and this is what is expected of China.

To accomplish these tasks at the same time, China's vaccine production must speed up as soon as possible. We don't have time to celebrate our past achievements. We need to move forward and focus on the future

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EU naive to believe US will be fair with vaccine distribution

 

Regardless of whether Europeans use Chinese vaccines, it is evident that Chinese vaccines have played an important role to protect their interests.

 

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WHO chief blasts rich countries for hoarding vaccines

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WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday lashed out at inequitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. He said most of the vaccines "have now been administered" in rich countries. "The world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure - and the price of this failure will be paid with lives and livelihoods in the world's poorest countries," he warned.

For now, seven COVID-19 vaccine candidates have been administered worldwide, the key of which are the US-developed and China-developed ones. The US-made vaccines have basically flowed to developed countries, while the China ones have mainly gone to developing countries.

Among rich countries that use US vaccines, the US has vaccinated 12 million people, ranking the first. 4.31 million doses (including the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine) have been administered in the UK, topping European countries. Canada reportedly has ordered enough vaccine doses to protect each Canadian five times. Three members of the Five Eyes alliance have left others way behind them in vaccine distribution. They have prioritized their own demands amid short vaccine supply, though Britain claimed it raised donations to help vulnerable countries access COVID-19 vaccines.

The US, the UK and Canada all shout loudly for developing countries' human rights. But they are the ones contributing to "a catastrophic moral failure" that Ghebreyesus said. When the interests of their own countries are not involved, they express concerns about human rights of other countries. But when they need to take real actions to help other countries realize human rights, they retract their heads as turtles.

Vaccines developed by Chinese companies have become a key resource to break rich countries' privilege and safeguard developing countries' rights. Chinese vaccines are cheap, easy to be transported and used all over the world. Besides, China has an explosive vaccine production capability and it has a greater surplus to provide the outside world, since the domestic epidemic in China has been relatively alleviated.

At the initial stage of distribution when supply is short, US vaccines will inevitably go to developed countries. The Five Eyes countries know this well. According to the WHO, it took over 10 years for life-saving HIV/AIDS drugs to reach poor countries after its invention. When the poor countries could put the HINI vaccines into use, the epidemic had already been over. Based on the vaccine distribution order in the past, developing countries will undergo many delays and setbacks to get US COVID-19 vaccines.

The Chinese vaccines are an important humanitarian supplement, but the US and its major allies have taken a cold attitude and even disparaged Chinese vaccines. They didn't offer much help in Chinese vaccines' Phase III trials. Particularly, Western public opinion in general is not friendly. It is keen on hyping and exaggerating any information unfavorable to Chinese vaccines and accuses China of engaging in "vaccine diplomacy."

This has formed a sharp contrast with the fact that Western public opinion influencers are flattering Pfizer vaccines and downplaying news the vaccines caused deaths.

This represents vaccine nationalism and egoism that disregards the urgent humanitarian demands, giving rise to an atmosphere in which political prejudice dominates the pandemic fight. Unity is lacking in the fight against the virus, mainly because of the negative attitudes of the US and its major allies.

On the other hand, the top leaders in several countries such as Indonesia, Turkey, Seychelles, Serbia and the Philippines have strongly backed Chinese vaccines. Some even publicly got vaccinated with Chinese vaccines. This has had a positive impact on the confidence of developing countries with Chinese vaccines. They are safeguarding the rights of developing countries to get vaccinated simultaneously with developed countries and they are bravely pursuing fairness.

US and Chinese vaccines have their own advantages. They are supposed to cooperate with each other closely to fight the novel coronavirus. Besides prices and logistical factors, their usage in developed and developing countries should not be affected by politics. Don't let the "catastrophic moral failure" become reality and consolidated. It must be stressed that the coronavirus is the common foe of humanity, and the battlefield and tools that fight against it cannot be separated.

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Royal approval: UAE’s Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum receiving an injection of a Covid-19 vaccine. — AFP

 COVID-19 Worldwide Dashboard - WHO Live World Statistics

THERE’S finally light at the end of the tunnel from a dark period in modern history. The race to complete the final stage of testing the Covid-19 vaccine is almost at the finish line.

In Britain, the vaccination exercise has kicked off with people above 80 years old, since they’re the most vulnerable to the dreadful virus.

But let’s not get carried away. Only the British government has expedited the approval because it’s bracing for a huge spike with the coming winter.

The United States government only officially approved the use of Pfizer Inc’s Covid-19 vaccine on Friday, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granting an emergency use authorisation for healthcare workers and elderly people in long-term care facilities in its first round of 2.9 million doses.

The FDA is responsible for protecting public health by ensuring safety, efficacy and security of human and veterinary drugs in the US. The FDA has always been used as a benchmark by most countries in providing approvals.

Last week, MyEG Services Bhd announced that it will work with Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical Co Ltd (Zhifei) to obtain the Malaysian halal certification for the Chinese biopharma company’s Covid-19 vaccine, and to exclusively distribute it in Malaysia for a three-year period.

It said the two companies had signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in conducting Phase 3 clinical trials of Zhifei’s vaccine in Malaysia and to meet the halal status requirements of the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim).

In September, loss-making Ho Wah Genting, which had been searching for a core-income generating business for a while, declared it was officially in the race to produce vaccines.

It announced that it had been appointed by a China-based diagnostic reagents manufacturer as its designated overseas sales agent for Covid-19 diagnostic products in Asean countries.

More recently, a Covid-19 research centre not linked to any medical institution, also sprouted and began issuing press releases to the media.

Firstly, let’s be clear that there’s nothing to stop the private sector from playing a role in the search for a vaccine source. In fact, I think it’s commendable that these companies are ready to play a complementary role.

If the intention is to help their bottom line, and in the process, propel their share prices, it’ll be up to shareholders to be mindful, and perhaps the Securities Commission to keep its eyes open.

Individuals hoping to set up a non-governmental organisation, including for Covid-19, have the right to do so, but their authority and credibility are for the public and media to decide.

The private sector, in fact, should be encouraged to take a stronger role in the fight against the pandemic, as the number of cases continue to climb in Malaysia.

The truth is, while we’ve relaxed the rules, with a crippling economy in mind, our situation has gotten worse. Let’s be honest – statistics don’t lie.

Only those with a warped mind, like conspiracy theorists, think the numbers in Malaysia have been manipulated and jacked up for political reasons. It’s an insult to dedicated professionals like Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah and his team of frontliners, who haven’t taken a day off since the Movement Control Order (MCO) began in March.

The number of positive cases in Malaysia could likely be higher because only targeted areas and cases are tested, including travellers, medical treatment seekers and foreign workers.

The average daily cases (originally three digits in March and rendering us house bound) has passed the 2,000 mark now.

Most of us feel the end is near and that even with the staggering new numbers, we are certain that the cure is just round the corner, what with all the media hype over 90% efficacy by these drug companies.

Unfortunately, none of the vaccines have been approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency of Malaysia yet. Companies bringing in Covid-19 vaccines must also be registered with the NPRA – it doesn’t matter if these vaccines are from the UK, US, China or Russia.

I’ve been reliably informed that until today, no private companies have applied despite their announcements. So, nothing has been approved.

Like the US, Malaysia has also decided to wait until all the vaccines have completed the final stages of trials and are properly approved.

With the situation exceptionally dire there though, the FDA is reported to be ready to approve emergency use of Covid-19 vaccines in the US as more than 285,000 people have died from the virus.

But as with all testing, there will be cases of side effects, including fatalities. Tests are often called off and then resumed, which is normal, but if we are to read the Western media, only US and UK-made vaccines are good enough.

They have put the Chinese and Russian products in bad light by insinuating they are inferior products.

This isn’t just a question involving billions of dollars, but a race for political and diplomatic achievements.

It won’t be surprising if the US FDA refuses to approve the Chinese and Russian products. And if that happens, then those nations would need to turn to the World Health Organisation.

So many of us have been brain-washed into believing that everything from the West is good and most things from China are inferior or not of international standards.

The New York Times reported that researchers are currently testing 57 vaccines in clinical trials on humans, and at least 86 pre-clinical vaccines are under active investigation on animals.

I am told that China has provided its initial consignment of vaccines from state-owned Sinopharm to Malaysia, and that we would be carrying out trials with the Medical Research and Ethics Committee to finalise the stringent criteria.

Shipments of Beijing-based Sinovac’s vaccine, CoronaVac, have arrived in Indonesia in preparation for a mass vaccination campaign, with another 1.8 million doses due by next month.

Sinovac’s edge is that it can be stored in a standard refrigerator at 2-8 degrees Celsius, like Oxford’s AstraZeneca, while Moderna’s vaccine needs to be stored at -20 C and Pfizer’s at -70 C.

That means the Chinese and UK vaccines are more practical for developing countries like Malaysia. Otherwise, we’d have issues storing large amounts of vaccine at extremely low temperatures because special storage facilities will be needed, which seems almost out of the question for rural areas.

Then, there’s the halal issue. The concerns among Muslims about the shots containing substances forbidden by Islam is understandable as the same issue was also brought up by Muslims in Indonesia.

But here are some simple medical rules – the Malaysian government does not register a medicine based on halal or non-halal status. No medicine carries a Jakim sticker that says halal certified.

Malaysia has inked a deal with Pfizer to supply 12.8 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine for 20% of the population. It has also reportedly entered a pact with Covax Facility, the global Covid-19 vaccine development platform, to cover another 10% of the population.

This is a life and death situation. No one needs to be an Islamic theology expert to know what Islam says about emergency cases relating to starvation or medical treatment. Perlis Mufti Datuk Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin has reportedly said that “even if there is an ingredient which is not permissible, the chemical transformation process will make it clean and halal.”

The Special Muzakarah Committee of the National Council for Malaysian Islamic Affairs met on Dec 3 to discuss whether the vaccine can be administered to Muslims.

Religious Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Zulkifli Mohamed Al-Bakri said the decision would be announced by the King.

Given the grounds to this concern, this is certainly the right course of action, especially in curtailing it from becoming both religious and political issues, or from companies exploiting the matter for commercial reasons by making all sorts of claims.

As someone privileged to have met Zulkifli, who tested positive himself, I can vouch that he is one of the most rational and practical Islamic scholars.

The United Arab Emirates, a Muslim country, has accepted the China-made Sinopharm and Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, is ready to take the vaccine from China, too. And Saudi Arabia has embraced Pfizer’s vaccine.

The end of Covid-19 is in sight for sure. The fact that Malaysia is already talking of vaccination and testing approaches, means we’re already making practical preparations.

Last week, I spoke to Datuk Zulkarnain Md Eusope, the chief executive officer of Pharmaniaga Bhd, the company tasked with bottling and transporting the Covid-19 vaccine for Malaysia.

The company is already preparing for the distribution of these vaccines and is just waiting for the government’s approval for the big day.

Zulkarnain is an excited man and rattled off details of what and how Pharmaniaga has readied itself to be part of history and saving lives.

For most Malaysians, 2020 has been a horrible year of Covid-19 and squabbling politicians.

What a toxic combination. For sure, we can’t wait to welcome 2021.

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Preparations in place for vaccine rollout

Research now in the final stages

From page 15 BEIJING: Research and development of coronavirus vaccines in China are at the final stages, with preparations in place for their mass production, said the head of the country’s Covid19 vaccine development task force.

There are five domestically developed vaccines under a phase-3 clinical trial, the final stage before attaining approval from the authorities, making China a leading country in Covid-19 vaccine development, said Zheng Zhongwei, who is also director of the National Health Commission’s development centre for medical science and technology.

Despite taking a leading role in Covid-19 vaccine research and development, China does not rush to compete in the field, Zheng told Xinhua on Wednesday.

Vaccines should be evaluated by criteria such as safety, effectiveness, accessibility and affordability before they are approved for market availability, he said, adding that China is being prepared for the mass production of vaccines. Researchers in China have been racing to develop Covid-19 vaccines. A total of 15 vaccines using five different technologies are under clinical trials in China.

Of them, five are undergoing phase-3 clinical trials in countries including the United Arab Emirates, Brazil and Pakistan, as domestic trials involving many volunteers are not practical due to the effective control and prevention of the epidemic on the Chinese mainland.- ANN/THE STAR

 

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The method of fighting the epidemic is a scientific issue and there should not be politics or ideology. Those labels that have nothing to do with the scientific COVID-19 fight should be discarded.
Source: Global Times | 2020/12/22 22:01:53

 

China is the world's largest vaccine producer in a market expected to reach $17.75 billion by 2030: industry forum

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The research and development process for a new vaccine usually takes at least a decade. But the deadly pandemic pushed the world to shorten the process to less than one year, which apparently increases the public's worries over the products' safety and efficacy. Can people accept such a hastily developed vaccine? Continue reading and let the evidence speak for itself. 

Sinovac secures annual output of 300 million COVID-19 vaccine doses by end of year

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With the continuous spread of good news about COVID-19 vaccines, how to ensure its transportation has become a hot topic for the global cargo industry. Analysts believe that vaccine transportation will stimulate the aviation recovery, but questions remain about how to make the transportation safe.

 

Health experts doubt Russia Covid-19 vaccine, as China likely to take lead along Russia in accelerated global vaccine race: experts

https://youtu.be/SHi2RjWP_zo

https://youtu.be/-XW9_1fXmKE

A handout photo provided by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) shows samples of a vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, in Moscow, Russia August 6, 2020. Picture taken August 6, 2020.

PETALING JAYA: The announcement of a Covid-19 vaccine in Russia – dubbed Sputnik V – that will help end the pandemic soon is still a “distant reality”, say local public health experts.

Russia announced on Tuesday it will approve a Covid-19 vaccine after less than two months of human testing and hopes to begin production in September with plans to vaccinate its medical staff immediately afterwards.

The approval was made before a phase three trial which would involve thousands of participants and considered essential before regulatory approval is made.

Public health expert Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar criticised the approval of the Covid-19 vaccine in Russia as non-ethical for its lack of full clinical trials and scientific data.

“The scientific community is worried as basically, a vaccine will need to undergo full clinical trials to identify its efficacy and side effects.

“So, it is premature for Russia to be releasing the vaccine now without conducting large-scale trials that would produce data to show whether it works, ” he said.

Public health medicine specialist of Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, Associate Professor Dr Rafdzah Ahmad Zaki said for any available vaccines, the effectiveness of the vaccine needs to be evaluated before it can be considered.

“With any new vaccine, there will be a committee to discuss and decide on the evidence of whether the vaccine works or not, ” she said.

The head of the Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Practice noted that any risk or benefit will be balanced before a vaccine is approved, such as whether the tested population is similar to Malaysia’s community and the kind of resources needed to implement the vaccine.

Dr Zainal, who is Malaysian Public Health Physicians’ Association president, cited an example of a dengue vaccination which was approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO). But even then, it was later found to have caused a lot of deaths and />complications.

“Luckily after evaluation, we did not implement the use of the dengue vaccination for our country.

“That is why the scientific and medical community is very cautious of approving a vaccine for the community because we don’t want to be wrong for using a premature product, ” he said.

Dr Zainal expects a vaccine to be made available in the country only by the middle or end of 2021.

“Any vaccine will help the situation later on. But at the moment, we don’t have the capability of developing new vaccines. But we can be involved in any trials or collaborate with international agencies for trial purposes, ” he said.

Indonesia said on Tuesday it would launch a Phase 3 human trials of a vaccine candidate from China’s Sinovac Biotech.

According to the WHO, there are currently 139 vaccines in development and 26 have been undergoing human trials since July 31. Out of the 165 vaccines, six are reaching Phase 3, which is the last step before regulatory approval and will involve large numbers of human testing.

Sinovac’s vaccine, named CoronaVac, is already being tested on 9,000 Brazilian health workers.

Malaysian Medical Association president Dr N. Ganabaskaran said the Covid-19 pandemic will go on for years even if vaccines are readily available.

“Even if vaccines are available, what about poor countries? Not all countries can afford the vaccine.

“There are vaccines being developed, but available vaccines will go to the rich countries first and it may take many years before we can overcome Covid-19, ” he said.

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China likely to take lead along Russia in accelerated global vaccine race: experts

The battlefield of a global vaccine race has seemingly transferred from research and development to the market after Russia announced its approval of the world's first COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, soon after which the US announced to purchase another 100 million doses of a domestic candidate, revealing the Trump administration's anxiety over Russia's move.

Covid'19 Vaccine for the world started mass produced in China on 8/8/20

8月8日！中国传来大喜讯！疫苗开始大规模生产，准备9月份分发全世界，拟定第一批名单，不是开玩笑，特朗普最怕的事发生！

https://youtu.be/JoXhQIGmtBs

Putin hails 'Sputnik vaccine'

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia had become the first country to grant regulatory approval to a COVID-19 vaccine after less than two months of human testing, a move Moscow likened to its success in the Cold War-era space race.

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