Vaccines from China bolster COVID fight

A special ceremony to honor China, held recently in the Dominican Republic, marked the first time that the Caribbean nation's Senate has recognized a foreign government for bringing hope and light to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Santiago Zorrilla, vice-president of the Senate, conferred a certificate of honor on then Chinese ambassador to the Dominican Republic Zhang Run at the ceremony on Feb 2 and said the country will always remember China's timely assistance in its darkest hour.

"I received two doses of Chinese vaccines, and so did my family members," Zorrilla told Xinhua News Agency, adding that China brought hope to the Dominican people and helped Dominicans return to normal as much as possible.

Lorraine Hernandez, who works at a health center in the country's capital, Santo Domingo, said she was thankful to China for providing vaccines that have helped to protect her family.

"The first vaccine that we — doctors and health personnel — received two years ago was the Chinese Sinovac," she said, emphasizing that Chinese vaccines played a key role in protecting medical personnel and curbing the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

According to the Dominican Republic's embassy in Beijing, millions of Dominicans have benefited from Chinese vaccines.

The embassy told China Daily that the country is thankful to the Chinese government and people for the fast and prompt authorization of the export permit for the more than 15.7 million doses of Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccines that were acquired for its national vaccination plan. It also received the donation by China of 50,000 doses produced by Sinopharm, together with protective medical gear and ventilators.

"When the world was shrouded in darkness by the pandemic, China stepped up and offered us help, demonstrating (the spirit of) solidarity and cooperation," Dominican Senator Aris Yvan Lorenzo said.

Lorenzo, who proposed the motion to honor China, said his proposal received unanimous support from senators of various parties in November.

As of June, more than 120 countries, including the Dominican Republic, and international organizations had received a total of 2.2 billion doses of vaccines from China through donations or purchases.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, China has championed the equitable distribution of vaccines and played an active role in narrowing the vaccination gap, thus making crucial contributions to helping the world overcome the pandemic at an early date, experts said.

"Particularly in 2020 and 2021, when the original strain and the Delta variant went rampant globally, Chinese vaccines have helped to save numerous lives," said Yao Jinxiang, an assistant researcher at the China Institute of International Studies' Institute of Developing Countries.