[NYP] China is stoking fears about the safety of Pfizer’s COVID-19 shot to deflect from damning studies questioning the effectiveness of its own vaccine, according to a report.State media has ramped up coverage of baseless safety fears, accusing Western media of ignoring the deaths of 23 recently inoculated seniors in Norway, even after officials ruled that the vaccine did not play a "contributory role," the Associated Press said.
The focus on Pfizer’s vaccine came as a study in Brazil showed that China’s vaccine, Sinovac, was just 50 percent effective, despite claims it was almost 80 percent effective.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a government-supported think tank, reported seeing an increase in Chinese media disinformation about vaccines immediately after the study was released.
The director of the Chinese Centers for Disease Control, Gao Fu, helped spread fears, insisting "there are safety concerns" with mRNA vaccines developed by both Pfizer and Moderna.