“The protection rates of existing vaccines are not high,” Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Saturday. “It is time to formally consider whether we should use vaccines developed from different technologies to stimulate immunization,” he said, adding that China should not overlook mRNA vaccines.
Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna photos are widely used in the United States and other countries using mRNA technology, a new type of vaccine that sends messages to cells in the body to produce a protein that provides protection against Covid-19. The two most used Covid-19 vaccines in China – Sinovac and Sinopharm developed locally – are based on inactive viruses.
But Gao’s remarks have been controversial in China, and as his comments have gained attention on social media and international news platforms, Chinese censors have quickly shattered online discussions. The state media quickly launched an interview with Gao to withdraw his comments.
The Global Times, a state-run nationalist tabloid, quoted Gao as saying its admission reports were “a complete misunderstanding” and published new reduced comments from Gao.
There are few data to show the impact of mixing different types of vaccines, although clinical trials have begun. France announced last week that it would provide alternative photos to people under 55 who had received a dose of AstraZeneca vaccine, after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) established a “possible link” between the shooting and a very rare blood disorder that could cause severe blood clots reactions. The EMA did not issue advice on mixing and fitting vaccines due to lack of data.
YOU ASKED. I ANSWERED.
Q. How good are these vaccines? Why should I get one vaccine that is less effective than another?
A. Of the vaccines authorized for use in the United States, both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna photos provide approximately 95% protection against symptomatic Covid-19 and both are virtually 100% effective against severe disease. In their clinical trials, no one who was vaccinated died of Covid-19.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was 72% effective against Covid-19 among US study participants and 85% effective against severe disease. Like the other two vaccines, no one who was vaccinated during the clinical trial died of Covid-19.
But that doesn’t mean the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is worse than the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines. Johnson & Johnson’s was later tested, when coronavirus cases were on the rise and new strains became more widespread. And unlike the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, which require two doses, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires a single dose.
WHAT’S IMPORTANT TODAY
Hairdressers and breweries – England is dragging its way
Sports halls and zoos will also be able to be reopened, provided they all have Covid security measures at their disposal. The relaxation of the measures in England comes as the UK – which includes Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – has vaccinated at least 32 million people with at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, almost half of its total population. About 7 million people, more than 10% of the population, had both doses.
Germany is approaching the national blockade, as ICUs are approaching capacity
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government has drafted a law to give the federal government the power to impose a national blockade, German newspaper Welt reported, as cases of infection steadily increase and doctors warn that intensive care units (ICUs) are subject to severe stress.
Germany surpassed 3 million infections on Monday, official public health data show, after a daily increase of more than 13,000 cases and 99 more deaths. The total death toll is now 78,452 in the nation of 83 million. The director of the country’s intensive care unit, Christian Karagiannidis, said Germany had reached the “peak” of occupying the ICU bed, warning that health workers were “decaying”.
The country’s Covid-19 response was celebrated in the first months of the pandemic, largely due to the sheer number of hospital beds and ICUs and Merkel’s ability to bring together regional leaders to implement uniform measures at the national level. This year, however, the launch of the vaccine in Germany has also been slow and is now looking at the Russian Sputnik shot amid the shortage and safety concerns surrounding the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Long-haul carriers are struggling to convince doctors that they have long Covid
Proof that they are still sick a few months after they became infected was half the battle of people around the world suffering from Covid. In the UK alone, almost 700,000 people in the country have reported symptoms for three months after infection. About 70,000 say the symptoms lasted more than a year.
Health experts are now warning of a global “second pandemic” of Longhauler Covid-19. They say the UK is failing to address the issue properly and are concerned that less wealthy nations could suffer even more.
ON OUR RADAR
- Hindus have packed the streets of Haridwar in India for the largest religious pilgrimage on Earth, defying the rules of social distancing as the number of infections increases.
- Michigan is in the middle of a Covid-19 wave, and an epidemiologist says other states should pay close attention.
- As coronavirus cases increase and hospital beds fill up in Pakistan, the country has become one of the first to allow the private sector to import and sell vaccines. And they sell.
- Protests erupted in Montreal on Sunday night after the city’s latest shutdown took effect due to the peaks in the Covid-19 cases.
- A Florida wine and food festival will require proof of vaccination. Its founder explains why.
TIP OF MORE TODAY
As a pediatrician, Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez spends many of her days with nervous mothers and fathers listening to why they are worried about their children getting vaccinated. “It’s often just a complete disagreement over how to raise children,” Bracho-Sanchez said.
To navigate the complexity, she tells families that she would never judge her parents or accuse them of not loving their children less if they are afraid of vaccinations. She just asks to talk about it, and skeptical parents often show up.
TODAY’S PODCAST
“Chinatown was seen as the source of these diseases. Chinatown was a neglected neighborhood.”
– Laureen Hom, assistant professor of political science at Pomona State Polytechnic University in California.