China has received more than 3.4 billion doses of the new crown vaccine, the last 10% is the key

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As of September 17, 2022, 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps have reported a cumulative total of 343,527,000 doses of vaccination against the new coronavirus. Is the vaccination rate sufficient?

On September 16, the online article “Perspectives: Vaccinate with Confidence and Finish Strong” (Perspectives: Vaccinate with Confidence and Finish Strong) published in the CDC Weekly (English) said that although there are difficulties in completing vaccination of the last 10% of China’s population against the new crown, to The report (Perspectives: Vaccinate with Confidence and Finish Strong) says that while it is difficult to complete vaccination of the last 10 percent of the country’s population against Neocon, it is necessary to continue to promote vaccination of these populations if we are to emerge from the outbreak successfully.

China’s outbreak prevention and control has saved more than 99% of the country from the virus

The article notes that over the past two and a half years, China’s continued prevention and control of the New Coronavirus outbreak has protected more than 99% of the country’s population from exposure and infection by the New Coronavirus and its variants. While there has been a socioeconomic cost to both government and society, the dynamic zero policy has been effective in reducing the rate of severe disease and deaths, buying us a smooth period of time to develop and deploy weapons to respond to the outbreak, including diagnostics, vaccines, antiviral drugs, and a constantly updated knowledge of the virus.

Chinese vaccines have been repeatedly proven safe and effective

The article mentions that during these two and a half years, China’s vaccine industry has developed, with domestic New Crown vaccines undergoing clinical trials both at home and abroad, receiving registration approval and WHO emergency use certification, and over 5 billion doses of New Crown vaccine having been produced for domestic and international use. More than 1.3 billion people in China have been vaccinated with the New Crown vaccine, and more than 90% of the country’s population has been protected by the domestic vaccine.

The current domestic New Crown vaccine, regardless of which technology route it belongs to, shows the same functional properties as other first-generation New Crown vaccines. All of the approved vaccines are safe and effective in preventing serious illness and reducing the incidence of death. At the same time, however, no vaccine is yet very effective in stopping infection and transmission of the virus. After several months of vaccination, the protective efficacy diminishes, and one or more booster doses are needed to maintain antibody levels.

Real-world evidence shows that domestic vaccines provide protection against severe, critical illness and death in all age groups, including those with comorbidities, and that after more than 3.4 billion doses in China, no serious safety problems have been identified with domestic vaccines, except for the extremely rare severe allergic reactions that can occur with all vaccines. A population-based safety study of inactivated vaccines in people aged 60 years and older in Hong Kong SAR, China, found no increased risk of relevant adverse events of special concern, regardless of whether the vaccine recipient was over 80 years of age or had comorbidities.

Dr. McMenamin and colleagues evaluated severe and fatal cases of neocrown pneumonia in the 2022 Hong Kong outbreak of Omicron BA.2 and found that homologous booster inactivated vaccine was 98% effective in preventing severe and fatal neocrown pneumonia, comparable to the level of homologous booster mRNA vaccine. In the absence of booster immunization, the effectiveness of inactivated vaccination was 70%.

Vaccination of the last 10% of the population is daunting but worthwhile

Establishing herd immunity through vaccination is a daunting task for a country with a large population. The article mentions that universal vaccination is necessary to effectively reduce deaths and serious illnesses associated with new coronas, and that the last remaining 10% of any vaccination rollout is the most difficult to accomplish, and that this 10% is often the critical protected population, a large proportion of whom have comorbidities, many of whom are elderly. A systematic evaluation of comorbidities and neonatal morbidity and mortality showed that obesity, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, respiratory disease, renal disease, and malignancy are risk factors.

The article also mentions that a second booster dose in due course is almost certain based on new evidence such as the duration of protection that the vaccine can provide. The way forward is clear on the path to vaccination prevention – vaccinate with confidence. In particular, the article mentions that regulators and manufacturers should work to remove contraindications to vaccination during pregnancy so that pregnant women can participate in vaccination, that there is no evidence to support contraindications to pregnancy, and that more than two-thirds of countries recommend vaccination for pregnant women, including the use of inactivated vaccines produced in China.

The article concludes that everyone wants to return to their pre-epidemic normal life, and vaccination is the key. Although vaccination against Newcastle has protected the vast majority of people in China so far, the last 10% is still worth the effort in anticipation of a successful emergence from the Newcastle epidemic.