Chinese vaccines curbing COVID-19 around the world

With the arrival of Chinese Sinopharm vaccines in Islamabad amid the second phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pakistan has kicked off a vaccination campaign on the largest scale in the country to tackle the disease by aiming to save precious lives.

The arrival of Chinese vaccine was a landmark moment for the country, which is still struggling to curb the containment of the pandemic.

As of Feb 2, Pakistan has so far confirmed 546,428 cases and lost 11,683 lives to the disease.

The donation of the vaccine to Pakistan represents the continuity of earlier assistance and donations that were provided by Beijing to the country in the first phase of pandemic, covering items such as facial and surgical masks, protective equipment, surgical gloves and sanitizers.

The arrival of the vaccine has sparked a wave of happiness and excitement for front-line workers who have played a historic role in the fight against COVID-19 by performing their duties around the clock. There were many who sacrificed themselves just to save the lives of their countrymen.

The same kind of excitement and welcome for the arrival of Chinese vaccines in various countries has also been reported as China's domestically developed vaccines have emerged as a ray of hope for all in the fight against COVID-19.

The pandemic challenge was a horrific nightmare for the South Asian country, but the timely sharing of medical experiences by Chinese doctors to their Pakistani counterparts enabled the medical community to perform their obligations smoothly.

As the special Pakistani plane landed at the Islamabad airport, millions of comments from Pakistani netizens flooded social media networks, reflecting their thrill over receiving the Sinopharm vaccine and showing their thanks to the Chinese leadership and Communist Party of China (CPC).

People believed that the arrival of the Chinese vaccine in Pakistan shows that China really cares for its partners and is practically helping the international community to smoothly and effectively curb the virus.

The development of Chinese vaccine within a short span of time after the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 also shows the Chinese system has performed according to the expectations of the international community, who were looking to Beijing for help.

The development of Chinese vaccines is a message for the international community that China is marching ahead of time and the expectations of Chinese partner countries are on the rise.

This vaccine has been approved for emergency use not only by Pakistan but also by other Asian, African, Latin American and other countries from various regions. These countries trust in the Chinese vaccine as its development is in strict compliance with international standards and relevant laws and regulations.

The approval of Chinese vaccines for emergency use shows its effectiveness against the deadly disease. The vaccine is performing well in controlling the pandemic, and it is the major reason that Beijing has received great applause from around the world.

The provision of Chinese vaccines to numerous countries fulfills the previously announced Chinese commitment from President Xi Jinping about making the vaccine a global public good.

The actions taken by China to make vaccine accessible and affordable for humanity is a step ahead for forming a shared future of global community. It also further demonstrates the remarkable success and achievement by China in meeting the greatest challenge of the human history.

The research and development process for the vaccine showed that Chinese scientists did not spare any efforts to meet the expectations of a global community in dire need of it.

The support of the Chinese government for the development of the vaccine in China including cooperation with World Health Organizations (WHO) and other countries is a commitment of the Chinese leadership to globalization and multilateralism.

It must be noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the dynamics of international scenarios and provides a lesson that the human beings need to work together with others, instead of in isolation.

Other Western nations should also open their hearts and minds to accept Chinese vaccines, which can help secure the lives of their respected citizens.

This disease does not belong to any community, ethnicity, country and nation, and neither does the cure. The Chinese humanitarian operations have shown that the every single citizen in its partner countries will have equal access to vaccines while ensuring transparency.

China has always attached the great importance to rescuing people in trouble, and its actions show the true spirit of the saying that "A friend in need is a friend indeed.".

The author is a Pakistani journalist focused on international issues.