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Chinese Military Approves COVID-19 Vaccine for Use on Troops

Beijing can now effectively test its vaccine on however many of its 2.28 million troops that it sees fit.

This is one way to test a new vaccine on millions of people, whether they like it or not. China’s military has approved a COVID-19 vaccine for use on its soldiers, according to Reuters news agency. The vaccine was developed by the Chinese military’s research unit and CanSino Biologics—a Hong Kong-based biotech firm; it has also been approved for testing on humans in Canada. CanSino said in a filing that China’s Central Military Commission has approved the use of the vaccine by the military for a period of one year. The move effectively means that China can test its vaccine on however many of its 2.28 million military personnel that it sees fit. However, Beijing has not yet said how widely it intends to use the vaccine. CanSino also said in the filing that clinical trials have shown its vaccine to have a “good safety profile” and potential to prevent COVID-19, according to The Guardian. However, the company warned that there’s no guarantee its vaccine will ever be commercially available.