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.
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
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.
China will make its Covid-19 vaccine a global public good when it is
ready for application after successful research and clinical trials, a
senior Chinese official said.
And we received some questions, about how to actually use BeiDou for navigation. This video explains how the system works on your phone.
Before we get started, let's clear up a common misconception. A lot of people think if you want to use the BeiDou system, you need to download some sort of "BeiDou apps."
The truth is, you don't need to download any new app for using the system. If you find an app titled "BeiDou" in an app store, it's not official. Regular navigation apps, delivery apps or car-hailing apps are all able to use the positioning service of the BeiDou system.
Civil equipment like our phones, cannot choose which navigation system to use. It will automatically pick the system that has best signal at that time.
So maybe you're using the BeiDou system right now.
But not every smartphone supports BeiDou. Currently, most of the Android phones can use the BeiDou system. But if you are an iPhone user, you are not able to use it because chips carried by the Apple product line do not support the system. To check, you can take a look at the tech specs of your phone.
GPS testing apps can show the number of satellites in your area and their signal strength. /Screenshot via GPS Test
Another way to find out whether your phone supports BeiDou is through GPS testing apps. Your phone can use BeiDou's services if the app can detect BeiDou's satellites.
There are also people asking whether BeiDou can be used outside China. You can do so just like we can use GPS services in China.
The difference is that BeiDou provides better accuracy in China and the Asia-Pacific region, at five meters, because of its unique layout. The accuracy in other areas is about 10 meters.
Cameraman: Yang Yang
Video editor: Guo Meiping
Cover image: Jia Jieqiong
How is China's BDS different from other global navigation networks?
https://youtu.be/NXdFg1PRKnQ
China has completed its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, or BDS, becoming the fourth country in the world with a global navigation network, the other three being GPS of the U.S., GLONASS of Russia and Galileo of Europe.
As the name suggests, the global navigation satellite system provides navigation and location services on a 24-hour basis. From what we know so far, building a sound satellite system costs a bundle. Besides, the other systems are already well-established. So, what makes China's BDS stand out among its competitors?
Firstly, the other systems have 24 satellites in medium earth orbit (MEO). In addition to the 24 satellites, the BDS constellation also has three satellites in geostationary earth orbit (GEO) and three in inclined geosynchronous orbit (IGSO). What's special about the extra six satellites is that they have a relatively fixed range of activity.
This layout can enhance BDS' accuracy in China and the Asia-Pacific region to five meters, in comparison with a 10-meter accuracy in other areas.
Secondly, BDS has a trump card – the short message service. It is a function that allows users to have a two-way communication.
In areas not covered by cellular or communication signals, BDS can make the short message service available in uninhabited areas, such as deserts, forests, and mountainous or polar regions.
With this service, users in distress can inform the rescue team about their location and condition.
As the most populated country in the world, it's important for China to have its own global navigation satellite system to meet the needs of the country's socio-economic development.
In fact, the BDS is also good business. According to the White Paper on the Development of China's Satellite Navigation and Location Services Industry (2020), the country's satellite industry has maintained a 20-percent annual growth since 2012. BDS contributes about 80 percent of it.
The system has also generated tens of billions of dollars, countless high-paying jobs, and stimulated economic growth via big contracts in commercial industries.
And with improvements in functions, it will have much more to offer in the future.
Scriptwriter: Pan Zhaoyi
Producer: Guo Meiping
Cameraman: Fu Gaoliang
Video editor: Zhao Yuxiang
Cover image: Yin Yating
Related:
A rewind of China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System deployment
https://youtu.be/CM1-7UcNAfE
