An expert yesterday warned against uncertified medical treatments after reports said that Taiwanese businesspeople allegedly planned to travel to China to be innoculated against COVID-19.
Unnamed businesspeople with ties to China have made plans to be injected in China, including Macau and Hong Kong, and have lobbied lawmakers to waive quarantine requirements for those who travel abroad to receive vaccines, media reports said.
Central Epidemic Command Center’s (CECC) special adviser Lee Ping-ing (李秉穎) said that vaccines that have not received international certification could be ineffective or even pose an infection risk.
Lee, who is also a member of Taiwan Immunization Vision and Strategy, made the remarks in an interview on Taipei-based Hit FM radio.
“As an expert, of course I want members of the public to prevent infections by taking reliable vaccines,” Lee said. “However, China is developing a plethora of vaccines utilizing various methods, the majority of which made the same progress as Taiwanese vaccines at phase 1 or phase 2 clinical trials.”
This means the Chinese vaccines are not expected to be patented until the second quarter next year, he said, adding it is “worrisome” that some Taiwanese businesspeople are supposedly organizing group trips to receive Chinese vaccines.
The pathogenic mechanism of COVID-19 is thought to be similar to the dengue virus in that harmful antibodies are formed during an infection, Lee said.
The antibodies do not help the body fight off subsequent infections, instead they make the symptoms more acute, he said.
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines employed special designs specifically to avoid such risks, he said.
The Chinese vaccines, which do not have the special designs, make use of the virus that causes COVID-19, he said, adding that they carry risks of causing antibody-dependent enhancement that worsens viral symptoms without preventing infection.
“A situation like this had occurred with past dengue fever vaccines and the dangers are significant,” Lee said.
Moreover, flying to China or its territories for a vaccine shot does not make sense in a cost-benefit analysis, as a 14-day quarantine is mandated for both legs of the trip, and the two-shot vaccine regime takes a month, he said.
If members of the public really want to go abroad to take a vaccine, they should follow quarantine protocols when they return home, he said.
People should wait for vaccine makers to publish studies, and for international authorities — such as agencies in the US and Europe — to certify and approve their vaccines, Lee said.
People should be wary of a vaccine that has not been approved by an authoritative agency, or one that has not completed all three clinical trial phases, he said.
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