In a very rare admission by China's Centre for Disease Control over Covid vaccine, the officials accepted that 'Chinese vaccines effectiveness is low'. Chinese vaccines don't have very high protection rates, said the director of the China Centers for Disease Control

Chinese vaccine's efficacy low, says China's CDC

Taiwan&nbsp;Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said Wednesday that his country&nbsp;worked with other democracies to help its diplomatic ally Paraguay get COVID-19 vaccines after China put pressure on the South American country to ditch Taipei in exchange for shots, and India stepped in to help.

Paraguay&nbsp;is one of only 15 countries that officially recognise Taipei over Beijing, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory.

Beijing has ramped up pressure on Taiwan since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen because she rejects its stance that the island is part of China.

It has poached seven of Taiwan's official allies since then,&nbsp;including Panama, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic.

On Wednesday Taiwan's foreign minister said China was trying to woo&nbsp;Paraguay&nbsp;with the promise of badly needed vaccines.&nbsp;

"This is a period of time when we see Chinese 'vaccine diplomacy' has been flexing its muscles in many parts of world, especially in central and south America," Joseph Wu told reporters.&nbsp;

"The Chinese government was very active in saying... if the&nbsp;Paraguay&nbsp;government is willing to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan, they will be able to get quite a few million vaccine doses from China," he added.

"It generated a lot of pressure on the government of President Mario Abdo Benítez and this also generated a lot of pressure on us to find the necessary support," Wu said, adding that&nbsp;Paraguay's political opposition was "very willing to link up with China".

Paraguay&nbsp;has reported 224,000 coronavirus infections and 4,500 deaths in a population of seven million.&nbsp;

Fatalities have risen alarmingly in recent weeks during a fresh wave of infections that have hammered its healthcare system.

There have been violent protests over the government's response as well as an ultimately failed attempt to impeach Abdo Benítez.&nbsp;

Wu said Taiwan had reached out to countries including Japan, the United States and India on the issue.

"In the last few weeks, we have been speaking to like-minded countries, including Japan, the United States, India etcetera, and India fortunately has been able to provide some COVAXIN vaccines to Paraguay," he said, referring to a shot developed by India's Bharat Biotech and a state research institute.

India has already shipped 100,000 doses to Paraguay and there will be another 100,000, Wu added.

Paraguay&nbsp;has also received 36,000 doses from AstraZeneca, 4,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, and 20,000 of the Chinese Coronavac donated by Chile.&nbsp;

Abdo Benítez has said he hopes to secure enough vaccinations by the middle of the year. He blamed the lack of doses on delays in Covax, a mechanism supported by the World Health Organization to widen access to vaccines.

Washington is also looking at ways to help countries struggling to secure enough vaccine supply, Wu said.

China has been a crucial source of vaccines for many poorer nations especially with wealthier countries snapping up supplies of Western-made doses.

It has previously denied using vaccines as a diplomatic pressure device.

Taiwan -- population 23 million -- has been hailed as a global success story in containing the virus, with around 1,050 confirmed cases and 10 deaths.&nbsp;

But it has struggled to secure vaccines and has so far only received 117,000 doses of AstraZeneca purchased from the manufacturer and another 199,200 doses of the same vaccine via Covax.

Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said Wednesday that his country worked with other democracies to help its diplomatic ally Paraguay get COVID-19 vaccines after China put pressure on the South American country to ditch Taipei in exchange for shots, and India stepped in to help.

Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said Wednesday that his country worked with other democracies to help its diplomatic ally Paraguay get COVID-19 vaccines after China put pressure on the South American country to ditch Taipei in exchange for shots, and India stepped in to help. Paraguay is one of only 15 countries that officially recognise Taipei over Beijing, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory. Beijing has ramped up pressure on Taiwan since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen because she rejects its stance that the island is part of China. It has poached seven of Taiwan's official allies since then, including Panama, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic. On Wednesday Taiwan's foreign minister said China was trying to woo Paraguay with the promise of badly needed vaccines. "This is a period of time when we see Chinese 'vaccine diplomacy' has been flexing its muscles in many parts of world, especially in central and south America," Joseph Wu told reporters. "The Chinese government was very active in saying... if the Paraguay government is willing to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan, they will be able to get quite a few million vaccine doses from China," he added. "It generated a lot of pressure on the government of President Mario Abdo Benítez and this also generated a lot of pressure on us to find the necessary support," Wu said, adding that Paraguay's political opposition was "very willing to link up with China". Paraguay has reported 224,000 coronavirus infections and 4,500 deaths in a population of seven million. Fatalities have risen alarmingly in recent weeks during a fresh wave of infections that have hammered its healthcare system. There have been violent protests over the government's response as well as an ultimately failed attempt to impeach Abdo Benítez. Wu said Taiwan had reached out to countries including Japan, the United States and India on the issue. "In the last few weeks, we have been speaking to like-minded countries, including Japan, the United States, India etcetera, and India fortunately has been able to provide some COVAXIN vaccines to Paraguay," he said, referring to a shot developed by India's Bharat Biotech and a state research institute. India has already shipped 100,000 doses to Paraguay and there will be another 100,000, Wu added. Paraguay has also received 36,000 doses from AstraZeneca, 4,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, and 20,000 of the Chinese Coronavac donated by Chile. Abdo Benítez has said he hopes to secure enough vaccinations by the middle of the year. He blamed the lack of doses on delays in Covax, a mechanism supported by the World Health Organization to widen access to vaccines. Washington is also looking at ways to help countries struggling to secure enough vaccine supply, Wu said. China has been a crucial source of vaccines for many poorer nations especially with wealthier countries snapping up supplies of Western-made doses. It has previously denied using vaccines as a diplomatic pressure device. Taiwan -- population 23 million -- has been hailed as a global success story in containing the virus, with around 1,050 confirmed cases and 10 deaths. But it has struggled to secure vaccines and has so far only received 117,000 doses of AstraZeneca purchased from the manufacturer and another 199,200 doses of the same vaccine via Covax.

Taiwan praises India for helping Paraguay get vaccines amid Chinese pressure

Brazil's health regulator on Monday accused China of not being transparent in efforts to win emergency approval for its <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus-vaccine">Covid-19 vaccine</a> CoronaVac, currently in the final phase of trials in the hard-hit country.

In a statement, Anvisa warned against the "influence of issues related to geopolitics" in promoting vaccines. "The Chinese criteria applied to grant the authorization of emergency use in China are not transparent," it said.&nbsp;

CoronaVac, produced by the Chinese private laboratory Sinovac in collaboration with the Butantan Institute of Sao Paulo, has been the subject of heated political debate in Brazil.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/brazil-will-not-buy-chinas-sinovac-vaccine-says-president-jair-bolsonaro-336929">Brazil will not buy China's Sinovac vaccine, says President Jair Bolsonaro</a>

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a consistent critic of China, has repeatedly cast doubt on the CoronaVac vaccine being developed by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd.

Meanwhile, Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria said the state expected to start vaccinating its residents in January, though&nbsp;Brazil's most populous state will not be able to use CoronaVac until it is approved by Anvisa.

"Brazil&nbsp;is the international leader in the evaluation process for CoronaVac," Anvisa said in a statement on its website on Monday.

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"The vaccine has had an emergency use authorization in China since June of this year. The Chinese criteria for granting emergency use authorization are not transparent, and there is no available information about the criteria currently in use by Chinese authorities to make these decisions."

China's foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbing said on Tuesday China had been attaching "great importance" to the safety and efficacy of its vaccines.

While&nbsp;Brazil's health regulator has long been largely apolitical, Bolsonaro has been appointing allies to it in recent months, stoking fears among health professionals that its decisions may be affected by political considerations.

At least tens of thousands of people have taken the Sinovac vaccine in China's emergency use program, officially launched in July, that targets limited groups of high-risk people.

China has not made public details of how it determines whether a novel coronavirus vaccine is qualified for emergency use. Its National Health Commission did not respond to a request for comment.

A Sinovac representative declined to comment but referred to a news conference in October at which a health official said the emergency inoculation was launched after stringent reviews and in accordance with China's laws and World Health Organization's rules.

These vaccines showed "very good safety and immunogenicity readings in Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials", the official said at the time.

CoronaVac is undergoing Phase 3 testing in Sao Paulo.

The Brazilian government has said that it has guaranteed access to 300 million vaccine doses, primarily those developed by the University of Oxford in alliance with the AstraZeneca group and the Brazilian health institute Fiocruz.&nbsp;

It has also negotiated another 70 million doses from Pfizer.&nbsp;

Bolsonaro's administration presented a vaccination "plan" last week, but did not say when the roll-out would begin.

The Supreme Court has ordered the government to announce the start date before 1650 GMT Wednesday.

Brazil has been hit hard by the pandemic, which has already claimed more than 181,000 lives and infected almost seven million people.

Brazil's health regulator on Monday accused China of not being transparent in efforts to win emergency approval for its Covid-19 vaccine CoronaVac, currently in the final phase of trials in the hard-hit country.

Brazil's health regulator on Monday accused China of not being transparent in efforts to win emergency approval for its Covid-19 vaccine CoronaVac, currently in the final phase of trials in the hard-hit country. In a statement, Anvisa warned against the "influence of issues related to geopolitics" in promoting vaccines. "The Chinese criteria applied to grant the authorization of emergency use in China are not transparent," it said. CoronaVac, produced by the Chinese private laboratory Sinovac in collaboration with the Butantan Institute of Sao Paulo, has been the subject of heated political debate in Brazil. Also read: Brazil will not buy China's Sinovac vaccine, says President Jair Bolsonaro Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a consistent critic of China, has repeatedly cast doubt on the CoronaVac vaccine being developed by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd. Meanwhile, Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria said the state expected to start vaccinating its residents in January, though Brazil's most populous state will not be able to use CoronaVac until it is approved by Anvisa. "Brazil is the international leader in the evaluation process for CoronaVac," Anvisa said in a statement on its website on Monday. "The vaccine has had an emergency use authorization in China since June of this year. The Chinese criteria for granting emergency use authorization are not transparent, and there is no available information about the criteria currently in use by Chinese authorities to make these decisions." China's foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbing said on Tuesday China had been attaching "great importance" to the safety and efficacy of its vaccines. While Brazil's health regulator has long been largely apolitical, Bolsonaro has been appointing allies to it in recent months, stoking fears among health professionals that its decisions may be affected by political considerations. At least tens of thousands of people have taken the Sinovac vaccine in China's emergency use program, officially launched in July, that targets limited groups of high-risk people. China has not made public details of how it determines whether a novel coronavirus vaccine is qualified for emergency use. Its National Health Commission did not respond to a request for comment. A Sinovac representative declined to comment but referred to a news conference in October at which a health official said the emergency inoculation was launched after stringent reviews and in accordance with China's laws and World Health Organization's rules. These vaccines showed "very good safety and immunogenicity readings in Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials", the official said at the time. CoronaVac is undergoing Phase 3 testing in Sao Paulo. The Brazilian government has said that it has guaranteed access to 300 million vaccine doses, primarily those developed by the University of Oxford in alliance with the AstraZeneca group and the Brazilian health institute Fiocruz. It has also negotiated another 70 million doses from Pfizer. Bolsonaro's administration presented a vaccination "plan" last week, but did not say when the roll-out would begin. The Supreme Court has ordered the government to announce the start date before 1650 GMT Wednesday. Brazil has been hit hard by the pandemic, which has already claimed more than 181,000 lives and infected almost seven million people.

Brazil drug agency Anvisa accuses China of being ambiguous on COVID-19 vaccine emergency use

China has put its homegrown COVID-19 vaccines on display for the first time, as the country where the contagion was discovered looks to shape the narrative surrounding the pandemic.

WION Dispatch: China vaccines on display for the first time; Here's the report

The Beijing-based company also said the vaccine hasn’t caused severe side effects and more than 90% of people.

China's Sinovac says coronavirus vaccine has shown positive results in trials