Chinese vaccine ready for global distribution

Southeast Asian children at risk of getting infectious Japanese encephalitis are expected to be immunized by 2015 with the first Chinese vaccine to obtain WHO prequalification, according to a senior official.

The vaccine, prequalified in October, meets international quality, safety and efficacy standards and could be integrated into the global vaccine supply, said Zhang Li, the senior manager of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, a public-private global health partnership.

She told China Daily that applications for the vaccine have been sent to needy countries, mainly in Southeast Asia, with annual per capita incomes under $1,550.