How effective is my country's COVID-19 vaccine? Can elderly people with chronic diseases be vaccinated?

Source: China Government Network

The Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council held a press conference on July 23 to introduce the safety and effectiveness of the new coronavirus vaccine. How is the vaccination situation? What is the actual effect of the vaccine? Let's pay attention to it together——

What is the current situation of COVID-19 vaccination in our country?

The COVID-19 vaccination situation has improved significantly in all age groups . As of July 22, 31 provinces (municipalities, autonomous regions) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps reported a total of 341,672,700 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, with a total number of 129,863,600 people vaccinated, and a first-dose vaccination coverage rate of 92.1%; 126,490,100 people have completed the full course of vaccination, with a full vaccination rate of 89.7%; 79,798,500 people have completed booster vaccination, with a booster vaccination rate of 71.7%. Overall, the vaccination rate is relatively high .

All current party and state leaders in my country have completed COVID-19 vaccination

All the current party and state leaders in my country have completed the COVID-19 vaccination, and all of them were vaccinated with Chinese-made vaccines. This fully demonstrates that our leaders attach great importance to the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic and have a high degree of trust in the COVID-19 vaccines produced in my country.

Currently, three new coronavirus vaccines in China have been included in the emergency use list by the World Health Organization, and more than 100 countries have approved the use of vaccines produced in China. Many of these countries use Chinese vaccines as the only vaccines for young children .

Leaders of more than 30 countries, including Turkey, Serbia, Cambodia, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Indonesia, Peru, and Chile, have taken the lead in getting vaccinated with China's domestically produced vaccines. These fully demonstrate that our vaccines have been widely recognized by the international community .

How is the COVID-19 vaccination situation for the elderly?

At present, the vaccination rate for people aged 60 and above in my country is 89.6%, the proportion of full basic immunization has reached 84.7%, and the booster immunization rate has reached 67.3%.

Judging from these data, the current vaccination coverage rate of the entire population and the elderly population over 60 years old in China has been greatly improved compared with the past . However, there is still room for improvement, mainly due to two issues: first, the vaccination coverage rate of the elderly over 80 years old needs to be improved; second, the booster vaccination rate of the elderly needs to be improved.

Are elderly people with chronic diseases suitable for vaccination?

Judging from the current vaccination situation at home and abroad, chronic diseases are not contraindications to COVID-19 vaccination . Patients with chronic diseases such as tumors, hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, etc., as long as their health conditions are stable and their medication is well controlled, are not contraindications to COVID-19 vaccination and can receive COVID-19 vaccination.

The following situations are recommended as contraindications to vaccination:

One is that a severe allergic reaction occurred during previous vaccination, such as anaphylactic shock and laryngeal edema.

The second reason is that various diseases are in the fever stage, such as influenza, pneumonia or other diseases.

The third is the acute attack period of some chronic diseases, such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, hypertensive patients experiencing hypertensive crisis, and some neurological diseases are occurring.

Fourth, due to various serious diseases, life has entered the terminal stage.

What is the actual effect of our country’s vaccine?

The COVID-19 vaccine is very effective in preventing disease, severe illness, and death, and booster vaccination can further improve the protective effect. Studies have found that for infected people aged 18 to 59 who have completed full vaccination and booster vaccination, the risk of developing from mild to common is 63% and 65% lower than that of unvaccinated infected people, and the risk of developing from common and below common to severe is 91% and 94% lower . For infected people over 60 years old who have completed full vaccination and booster vaccination, the risk of developing from mild to common is 73% and 82% lower than that of unvaccinated infected people, and the risk of developing from common and below common to severe is 89% and 95% lower than that of unvaccinated infected people. Our country's vaccines meet the standards set by the World Health Organization for COVID-19 vaccines, which are to prevent disease, severe illness, and death .

After the human body is vaccinated with the new coronavirus vaccine, the immune response of different individuals is different . As for the virus, it is constantly mutating, and the immune protection generated after vaccination is not exactly the same. Among people who have been vaccinated with the new coronavirus vaccine, even if a breakthrough infection occurs, the risk of severe illness and death is greatly reduced .

Other protective measures such as wearing masks and getting booster shots can achieve better preventive effects, which is why we require people who have been vaccinated to still strengthen their personal protection .

Are existing vaccines effective against the Omicron variant?

The results of multiple studies have shown that the effectiveness of existing vaccines at home and abroad in preventing severe illness and death remains at a high level. China's vaccines also continue to have a good protective effect against severe illness and death caused by the Omicron variant, and booster immunization can further reduce the risk of hospitalization, severe illness and death .

China's research and development of the Omicron variant vaccine is progressing steadily. If necessary, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, the emergency use approval process can be quickly initiated and vaccination can be provided .

How to ensure the quality and safety of vaccines?

First of all, before each batch of vaccines leaves the factory, the company must inspect it according to the standards approved by the state . The inspection items include physical indicators, chemical indicators, identification indicators, effectiveness indicators and safety indicators.

Secondly, the national statutory inspection agency needs to batch release the vaccines on the market . During the process, the inspection is carried out in accordance with the standards approved by the state. After the inspection is qualified and meets the standards, an inspection report is issued and the vaccine is allowed to be released. After the new crown vaccine was launched on the market, the national statutory agency selected capable personnel from various provinces to expand and supplement the batch release capacity and improve the batch release capacity.

At the same time, the drug regulatory authorities have also dispatched on-site inspectors to vaccine manufacturers to conduct on-site inspections of the entire vaccine production process to ensure that the production process complies with national regulations.

In addition, after the finished vaccine leaves the factory, a series of measures are taken to ensure the quality of the vaccine during use . For example, a workflow and technical guide for increasing production lines and expanding production have been issued, and an independent COVID-19 vaccine information traceability and supervision system has been established to ensure that the source and destination of each vaccine can be traced .

What is the difference between homologous boost and sequential boost?

Whether it is a homologous booster shot, that is, boosting with vaccines of the same technology route, or a sequential booster shot, that is, boosting with vaccines of different technology routes, both can significantly improve the protective effect, and the protective effect against illness, severe illness and death is more obvious . Therefore, booster shots are very necessary.

Why do children use the same doses of vaccines as adults?

In our country, minors aged 3-17 years old use the same dosage as adults, which is determined based on clinical trial data . In the past, other inactivated vaccines, including inactivated polio vaccine, rabies vaccine, hepatitis A vaccine, etc., have been determined to be consistent with the dosage for children and adults based on the results of clinical studies. The experience of many years of use on the market has confirmed that it is safe and effective for children to use the same dosage as adults .

The mRNA vaccines of two foreign companies use 30 micrograms and 100 micrograms for adults, and one-third of the adult dose for children. This is mainly based on the characteristics of the vaccine itself and the results of clinical safety and effectiveness studies. Vaccines produced by different technical routes have different ingredients and different mechanisms of inducing immune responses in the body, so there is no comparability in terms of dosage.