China has claimed that it rolled out an experimental coronavirus vaccine and began inoculating high-risk groups in late July, The Washington Post reported. This makes the roll-out of the Chinese vaccine earlier than Russia, which had claimed on August 11, that it was the first country to develop a vaccine for coronavirus.

Zheng Zhongwei, head of China’s coronavirus vaccine development program said on Saturday, that “urgent use” of the Sinopharm trial vaccine was launched on July 22, with initial use for medical workers and some state-owned enterprises. 

This puts the roll-out of the Chinese vaccine three-weeks ahead of Russia‘s vaccine Sputnik V. Although, neither of them have yet passed standard clinical trials.

“In order to prevent the disease spread in the fall and winter, we are considering a moderate expansion in the program,” Zheng Zhongwei said on the state TV. “The purpose would be to first build an immunity barrier among special groups in the population,” he added.

The program will be expanded to cover employees of food markets, transport systems and service industries.

The development of a vaccine takes several months and even years to be produced. But, with the coronavirus vaccine raging through the world, scientists are racing with time to develop a cure for the disease.

Meanwhile, the Chinese announcement caused some unease in the White House. President Donald Trump tweeted on the same day as the Chinese announcement that either the Food and Drug Administration or the “deep state” was delaying progress for the US coronavirus vaccine.

The novel coronavirus that was first reported in China, late last year has infected over 23.8 million people and killed more than 817,000.