Close X
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
ADVT 
National

Committee told of Chinese interference in vaccine

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 12 Mar, 2021 11:17 PM
  • Committee told of Chinese interference in vaccine

A Canadian vaccine researcher says he believes that Chinese political machinations ended a vaccine partnership last summer.

Dr. Scott Halperin, the director of the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology, made the accusation Thursday to the Special Committee on Canada-China Relations.

The partnership was originally planned to be between China's CanSino Biologics and the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. CanSino had been given a licence by the National Research Council to use a Canadian biological product as part of a COVID-19 vaccine.

China blocked shipments it was supposed to send to Dalhousie researchers by the end of May 2020 to start human trials.

Halperin said he was initially told it was due to bureaucratic issues such as paperwork.

By August, he said, it became clear that the Chinese government had no desire for the vaccine to leave the country.

Halperin said he realized paperwork wasn't to blame after he discovered the vaccine had been given the green light to be shipped out of China to Russia, Pakistan, Mexico, Chile and Argentina — all of which were countries researchers had planned to stage the third phase of the clinical trials in.

"It was clear that this was not ... that CanSino wasn't able to ship out of the country, but that it was specific to Canada," he said Thursday.

"That's when it became clear it was political and not something that was going to be solved by more paperwork."

CanSino Biologics did not immediately return a request for comment.

Halperin said CanSino officials repeatedly assured researchers that the issue would be sorted out, but the delays quickly led to the work researchers had done to become irrelevant.

"Up until that point the dates of scheduling them kept rolling back and back and back until finally the vaccine had to be shipped back from the airport to the company," he said.

Members of the special committee questioned Halperin over whether he knew that CanSino had connections to the Chinese government before the partnership started.

"I was aware that the founders had previously worked in Canada at Sanofi Pasteur and then had gone back to China to start that company," he said.

Halperin was also questioned over what CanSino gained from the partnership, such as access to Canadian research, without offering anything in return.

"For the Phase 1 study that ended up being cancelled, they gained nothing and we gained nothing because we were not able to generate any data from the planned study," he said.

"It just ended up being a waste of a lot of time on all parties."

MORE National ARTICLES

PM 'optimistic' that vaccine timeline can move up

PM 'optimistic' that vaccine timeline can move up
He says that by the end of the month, Canada should receive more than the 6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines it initially expected.

PM 'optimistic' that vaccine timeline can move up

Federal funding for 100 new research projects

Federal funding for 100 new research projects
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $518 million Wednesday he says will support the work of nearly 1,000 researchers.

Federal funding for 100 new research projects

Fraser Health declares COVID-19 outbreak at Cindrich Elementary School in Surrey

Fraser Health declares COVID-19 outbreak at Cindrich Elementary School in Surrey
An individual at the school tested positive for a COVID-19 variant of concern. Only those staff and students who have been identified as close contacts need to be tested and have been contacted.

Fraser Health declares COVID-19 outbreak at Cindrich Elementary School in Surrey

B.C. auditor general raises accounting concerns

B.C. auditor general raises accounting concerns
Pickup outlined Tuesday what he describes as a nine-year accounting difference of opinion his office has with B.C. over the way federal funds for capital projects are added to the province's annual budget totals.

B.C. auditor general raises accounting concerns

438 new COVID19 cases for Tuesday

438 new COVID19 cases for Tuesday
There are two new COVID deaths in BC. There have been 1365 deaths in BC connected to the virus.

438 new COVID19 cases for Tuesday

B.C. brings rapid response teams to schools

B.C. brings rapid response teams to schools
The government says in a statement the teams will work with staff at schools, school districts and health authorities to review significant exposures to the virus.

B.C. brings rapid response teams to schools