Close X
Saturday, November 23, 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

Kielburgers issue new demands before testifying

Kielburgers issue new demands before testifying
On Monday, the brothers reversed their initial refusal to testify and requested to come before the committee after it voted unanimously to summon the pair.

Kielburgers issue new demands before testifying

Canada marks one year since pandemic began

Canada marks one year since pandemic began
Since the pandemic began, 2.5 million people around the world have died due to COVID-19, with more than 22,000 of them in Canada.

Canada marks one year since pandemic began

Chinese media say two Michaels set to face trial

Chinese media say two Michaels set to face trial
Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were detained in December 2018 in apparent retaliation for Canada's arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on an extradition request from the United States.

Chinese media say two Michaels set to face trial

NDP to vote against changes to assisted-dying bill

NDP to vote against changes to assisted-dying bill
The vote on Bill C-7, expected in the House of Commons today, has been bogged down in debate since returning from the Senate with substantive amendments.

NDP to vote against changes to assisted-dying bill

Dedicated bike lane returns to Stanley Park

Dedicated bike lane returns to Stanley Park
Park board commissioners voted 5-2 Wednesday to implement the lane on Park Drive as soon as possible and keep it in place until Oct. 31.

Dedicated bike lane returns to Stanley Park

531 COVID19 cases for Wednesday

531 COVID19 cases for Wednesday
There has been one new COVID-19 related death in the last 24 hours, for a total of 1,394 deaths in British Columbia.

531 COVID19 cases for Wednesday