Wu Guizhen, the chief biosecurity expert from China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said on Monday that ordinary Chinese residents could start receiving COVID-19 vaccines as early as November, adding that the current Phase III clinical trials have been going smoothly.

China has been leading the world in research and development of a vaccine against COVID-19. Nine vaccines have entered Phase III of clinical trials around the world, and five of them are being developed by China, according to Wu.

Wu said that the novel coronavirus is a high-risk virus and needs to be produced in a negative pressure environment. Experts from the health commission departments are now intensively reviewing production workshops. Two have passed examination and approval, and a third is being evaluated.

More than 30 novel coronavirus vaccines worldwide have entered the clinical trial stage, nine of which have entered the Phase III clinical trial stage.