China has gained global recognition for its fight against the pandemic by providing Sinovac vaccines and other public goods to the world.
BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- A recent Reuters investigation has found that the U.S. military launched a secret disinformation campaign to discredit Chinese vaccines in the Philippines, a nation severely impacted by COVID-19.
The disclosure has sparked widespread condemnation of the U.S. scheme from public health experts. Even former U.S. intelligence officials have decried the disinformation campaign.
China has gained global recognition for its fight against the pandemic by providing Sinovac vaccines and other public goods to the world.
Studies have proved the immunogenicity and safety of Sinovac vaccines, said Sinovac spokeswoman Yuan Youwei, adding that the COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized for use in more than 60 countries, regions and international organizations.
The Sinovac vaccine is safe and effective at preventing severe disease and death from COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) told Xinhua in a written statement.
"Disinformation, or the manipulation of information with an intention to deceive and cause harm, is a major health threat today," the Geneva-based health body warned.
Ramy Pulayd, a 29-year-old Filipino, said he got two doses of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine during that hard time.
When the virus caused widespread disruption across the Philippines, "China came and gave us a hand," he said, adding that his brother and sister were also vaccinated.
"We trust China and its vaccines are reliable," Pulayd said.
In fact, many countries, especially developing ones, welcomed Chinese vaccines during the pandemic. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic had personally awaited the delivery of the vaccine doses at Belgrade airport, expressing his gratitude to China.
Meanwhile, the United States did not lend a helping hand to developing countries when they were in urgent need of vaccines.
"We didn't do a good job sharing vaccines with partners," a senior U.S. military officer directly involved in the campaign was quoted as saying by Reuters. "So what was left to us was to throw shade on China's."■
