China’s state-run broadcasters China Central Television (CCTV) and China Global Television Network (CGTN) released an episode recently, claiming that the chief scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO), Soumya Swaminathan, recognized that “China’s COVID-19 vaccines are effective.” However, a Hong Kong fact-checking agency found that the female expert’s statement was edited and taken out of context.
CCTV’s Chinese-language Facebook account published a post alleging that the WHO expert, when speaking of China’s COVID-19 vaccines, said: China had a “very active” vaccine development program and “several of their vaccine candidates are in advanced stages of clinical trial so this is also of interest to us so we’re following those very closely. Some of their candidates actually proved to be successful in the clinical trials that are going on.”
