London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

South Africa Vaccinates 2,000 Children In Trial Of Chinese Vaccine

South Africa Vaccinates 2,000 Children In Trial Of Chinese Vaccine

In South Africa, Numolux has partnered with seven clinical research sites across the country to enroll 2,000 participants from 6 months to 17 years.
South Africa on Friday joined the international Phase 3 clinical trials of China's Sinovac Biotech COVID-19 vaccine for those aged between 6 months and 17 years, with first of the 2,000 children receiving their jabs.

The identities of the boy and a girl, both aged 17 years, were kept secret to protect their privacy as they received their vaccines at the MeCRU Clinical Research Unit, based at the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, north of Pretoria.

The primary objective of the global study is to evaluate the efficacy of two doses of CoronaVac against confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 cases in children and adolescents aged 6 months to 17 years. Efficacy will also be evaluated against hospitalisation and severe COVID-19 cases.

The study worldwide will enroll a total of 14,000 children and adolescents in various paediatric age groups in South Africa, Chile, the Philippines, Malaysia and Kenya.

In South Africa, Numolux has partnered with seven clinical research sites across the country to enroll 2,000 participants from 6 months to 17 years.

The trials will start with the 12 to 17 age group, before moving to younger children.

A representative of Numolux, the South African licence holder for Sinovac, said the safety of the vaccine has already been established abroad.

"The vaccine has been tested in phase three trials in adults in Brazil, in Chile, in Indonesia and in the Philippines. It has been shown to be very effective in these studies ranging from 51 per cent in a healthcare population, to 93 per cent in the Turkish and Indonesian populations and 87 per cent in Chile," said Dr Sanet Aspinal, the Numolux group virologist.

Sinovac currently has conditional approval from the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) for people aged 18 to 59 years, although the vaccine has not yet been distributed for adults.

SAHPRA has also approved this latest South African trial.

Sinovac's medical director for clinical research Gang Zeng said the vaccine has already been administered to about 40 million children aged between three and 17 in China.

"This study has public health importance globally because a vaccine that prevents COVID-19 disease and transmission in paediatrics would be a crucial tool to assist in curbing the pandemic," the university said in a statement.

"Although children and adolescents have a milder form of the disease than adults, they remain susceptible to infection and severe manifestations across all ages," it added.

Numolux Group CEO Hilton Klein said it was critical to protect children of Africa.

"(We have) joined Sinovac in the fight against this deadly monster to ensure that the children of Africa have access to a safe and effective children's vaccine to protect them against COVID-19," Klein said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Massive Strikes in France Pressure Macron and New PM on Austerity Proposals
Trump Seeks Supreme Court Permission to Remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook
Hillary Clinton’s Reckless Rhetoric Fuels Division After Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
NASDAQ Rises to Record as Intel Soars More Than 20%, Nvidia Gains 3%
Nvidia’s $5 Billion Bet on Intel Reshapes AI Hardware Landscape
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Trump’s Quip on Biden and Google Lawsuit Revives Debate Over Antitrust Legacy
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
×