China’s 99% coronavirus vaccine could be ready by year-end

A Chinese Coronavirus  (Covid-19) will be  ready the end of the year, a government body has announced as nations race to be the first to come up with a defense against the virus that has infected nearly 6 million people and wrecked the world economy.

The vaccine, jointly developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products and China National Biotec Group Co., has completed phase II testing and may be ready for the market at the end of this year or early next year, said the report.

The production line for the vaccine will be fully disinfected and closed in preparation for output to start Saturday, and will have a full manufacturing capacity of 100 million-120 million vaccines each year.

Drugmakers are racing to develop a cure for the contagion that has so far killed at least 365,000 people. More than 100 vaccines for the virus are being developed globally, but only a handful have made it to the crucial and final human clinical trial stage, with Chinese scientists leading the way.