Czech President Miloš Zeman asked Chinese President Xi Jinping for supplies of the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine. According to Zeman´s spokesman, Jiří Ovčáček, the Chinese side decided to immediately comply with the request.
“The prime minister asked the president to address the president of the People’s Republic of China with a request for the supply of the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm. The president complied with this request and wrote to the president of the PRC. According to a report by the Czech Embassy in Beijing, the Chinese side decided to comply with this request immediately,“ stated Ovčáček on Twitter.
Zeman spoke about the Sinopharm vaccine on Tuesday during a meeting with representatives of CITIC Europe Holding. According to Castle Chancellor Vratislav Mynář, the company’s representatives informed the president that all CITIC employees had received both doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine.
“Any of their acquaintances and those around CITIC vaccinated with Sinophram were not infected with Covid-19, the vaccine thus works,“ he stated after the meeting.
So far, the Chinese authorities have approved several vaccines produced at home. Hungary was the first country in the European Union to use a vaccine from the Chinese state-owned company Sinopharm, although the vaccine has not yet passed the EU approval process. Hungary also uses the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, which also has no EU registration.
Title image: Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, poses for a photo after presenting his book as a gift to Czech President Milos Zeman following a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday, May 12, 2017. (Jason Lee/Pool Photo via AP)
