Chinese vaccine maker Recbio hopes an IPO in Hong Kong will bring investor attention to its mRNA COVID vaccine with potential against the Omicron variant.

A new emergency authorization marks China’s fourth approval for inactivated COVID-19 vaccines, despite lingering doubts over the protection offered by the technology and surging cases in one of the most vaccinated countries where Sinopharm’s inactivated vaccines are widely used.

As China gears up to roll out millions of doses of its own vaccines to help fend off the coronavirus around the world, a scandal-ridden past continues to haunt the aspiring sector but is fading with improved regulation.

When a high-profile regulatory official in China was sentenced to 10 years in prison, at least five vaccine makers were found to have paid millions in bribes, although none were rigorously prosecuted. Three years later, as the country gears up for worldwide roll-out of its COVID-19 vaccines, many wonder if there are haunting glimmers from the past.