Are Chinese vaccines to blame for its COVID-19 surge?

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The outbreak of COVID-19 in China has the world on edge.

With China limiting its definition of COVID-19 testing, and some estimating it could witness a million new infections and 5,000 deaths every day, questions are being raised about the effectiveness of their homemade vaccines.

So what vaccines does China use? How did they get away with it? And which countries use these vaccines?

Let’s take a closer look:

What vaccines does China use?

China has administered at least five different vaccines to its citizens.

But Sinopharm and Sinovac, two vaccines developed by SinoPharm, have been administered to the vast majority of citizens.

While China says 90% of the population has been vaccinated, only around 60% have received a booster, with the elderly most likely to miss out.

More than nine million people over the age of 80 have not received the third vaccine, according to China’s official Xinhua news agency.

How have vaccines fared against COVID-19?

Not as good as messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines developed by the West.

Western mRNA vaccines instruct cells in the body to build a replica of a key coronavirus protein to trigger an immune response, while Chinese shots are based on using an inactivated form of the virus, a proven method that has been used to develop influenza and poliomyelitis. vaccines to trigger an immune response.

The World Health Organization said in June that US-made Moderna and Pfizer vaccines had a 95% effectiveness rate against COVID-19.

Sinopharms efficiency is around 79%, while Sinovac-CoronaVac clocks are well below 51%.

A study in Hong Kong which administered both an mRNA vaccine and Sinovacs CoronaVac suggested that CoronaVac requires a third injection to provide comparable protection, especially for the elderly.

A regular course of the vaccine consists of two injections, with an optional booster later.

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It’s also unclear how Chinese vaccines will fare against newer variants like BF.7, which is currently causing the outbreak in China, although experts say the low level of immunity among the population in broadly due to the zero-COVID strategy could also be blamed.

Which brings us to a bigger issue, Chinese vaccines being used around the world.

The China Daily quoted its officials as saying that Beijing has so far sent its vaccines to more than 40 countries, including Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Cambodia and the Philippines.

China owes important mRNA vaccines

Experts, politicians and industrialists call on China to import mRNA vaccines.

Ali Mokdad, a professor at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, told SCMP he believes China could witness half a million deaths by April. in the absence of mRNA vaccines and mitigation measures.

Speaking to the newspaper, Dr Jennifer Huang Bouey, an epidemiologist and China policy specialist at the RAND Corporation, said mRNA vaccines are a critical component in China to solving its COVID-19 problem.

Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra, speaking to Twitter, said it was clear that Chinese vaccines were clearly not providing the necessary immunity.

Bloomberg quoted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as saying Washington is ready to help Beijing with vaccines.

“We want to see China bring this outbreak under control. The United States is concerned about the rise of new coronavirus variants and the outbreak in China has clear implications for the global economy due to China’s multi-day lockdown. levels,” Blinken said.

But Chinese embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said on Wednesday that its stockpile of vaccines could generally meet demand” and that recalls were being rolled out.

But some disagree.

These are not bad vaccines. These are just vaccines that have yet to be optimized, said Gagandeep Kang, a virologist at Christian Medical College in Vellore, India, as quoted by the journal Nature.

Will China see the light on mRNA vaccines?

Maybe.

The Global Times in April that China’s Fosun Pharma is working with authorities as it awaits approval to distribute manufacturing of mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and BioNTech.

There is also hope for an mRNA vaccine made in China by Abogen Biosciences, a start-up founded in 2019 by Bo Ying, a US-trained scientist who previously worked for Moderna.

Experts say China should import the mRNA vaccines. News18

The company has partnered with more established companies in the country, such as Walvax, a private company founded in 2001, and the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, the army’s medical research center. Abogen has raised over $1.7 billion since 2020.

The company’s vaccine candidate successfully elicited an immune response in a small preliminary test in humans designed to assess safety, according to a study published in the journal Lancet Microbe.

The results were “promising”, said Dr Vineeta Bal, who studies immune systems at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Pune.

But she also said a direct comparison of the immune response triggered by the test with the response triggered by the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines would have helped scientists better assess its performance.

But the large studies needed to show whether the vaccine works to prevent infections or symptoms have not been completed. Abogen did not respond to interview requests.

Even if the studies can be completed and the vaccine proves effective, manufacturing the millions of doses needed will be a challenge, experts say. Abogen built a manufacturing facility in December 2020 with a planned capacity of up to 120 million doses per year.

Manufacturing this vaccine and ensuring quality at scale will be a tough hurdle because mRNA is still a new technology, said Scott Wheelwright, chief operating officer at BioInno Bioscience, a Chinese biopharmaceutical contract manufacturer. , who had conversations with Abogen.

In the meantime, Chen, the Yale health policy expert, said the Chinese government should better protect its elderly population by endorsing the Pfizer vaccine and encouraging recalls.

With contributions from agencies

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