“Protection rates for existing vaccines are not high,” Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said Saturday. “It is time to formally consider whether we should use vaccines developed from different technologies to increase immunization,” he said, adding that China should not overlook mRNA vaccines.
Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots that are widely used in the United States and several other countries use mRNA technology, a new type of vaccine that sends messages to the body’s cells to produce a protein that provides protection against the Covid-19. The two most widely used Covid-19 vaccines in China: Sinovac and Sinopharm, developed locally, are based on inactivated viruses.
But Gao’s statements were controversial in China, and as his comments gained strength on social media and international news platforms, Chinese censors quickly rubbed off on online discussions. State media quickly published an interview with Gao to leave his comments behind.
The Global Times, a state-run nationalist tabloid, quoted Gao as saying reports of his admission were “a complete misunderstanding” and posted further reduced comments from Gao.
There is little evidence to show the impact of mixing different types of vaccines, although clinical trials have begun. France announced last week that it would offer alternative shots to people under the age of 55 who had received a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) established a “possible link” between the shot and a blood disorder. very rare that can cause severe blood clots. EMA has not issued advice on mixing and combining vaccines, due to lack of data.
YOU ASKED. WE ANSWERED.
Q. How good are these vaccines? Why should I take one vaccine less effectively than another?
A. Of the vaccines authorized for use in the United States, both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna injections offer 95% protection against symptomatic Covid-19, and both are virtually 100% effective against serious disease. In their clinical trials, no vaccinee died due to Covid-19.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was 72% effective against Covid-19 among American trial participants and 85% effective against serious 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 Modern or Pfizer vaccines. Johnson & Johnson’s was tested later, when coronavirus cases increased and new variant strains spread more widely. And, unlike the Modern and Pfizer vaccines, which require two doses, the Johnson & Johnson shot only requires one dose.
WHAT’S IMPORTANT TODAY
Hairdressing salons and beer gardens: England crawls out of the enclosure
Gyms and zoos will also be able to reopen, as long as they all have Covid security measures in place. Relaxation of measures in England comes when the UK, which also includes Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, has vaccinated at least 32 million people with at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, almost half its population. total. About 7 million people, more than 10% of the population, have had both doses.
Germany is approaching national closure as the ICUs approach
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government has drafted a law to give the federal government the power to impose a national shutdown, the German newspaper Welt reported, as cases of infection are constantly rising and doctors warn that intensive care units (ICUs) are under strong stress.
On Monday, Germany surpassed 3 million infections, according to official public health data, after a daily increase of more than 13,000 cases and 99 more deaths. The total death toll is now 78,452 in a country of 83 million. The director of the country’s intensive care association, Christian Karagiannidis, said Germany had reached the “maximum” of bed occupancy in the ICU, and warned that health workers were “degrading”.
The country’s response to Covid-19 was celebrated in the early months of the pandemic, largely due to its high number of hospital beds and the ICU and Merkel’s ability to bring together regional leaders to implement uniform measures. at the national level. This year, however, the deployment of vaccines in Germany has also been slow, and it is now looking at Russian sputnik amid the shortage and safety concerns surrounding the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Long-haul carriers struggle to convince doctors they have Covid for a long time
Proving that they are still sick months after being infected has been half the battle for people around the world who suffer from a long Covid. In the UK alone, almost 700,000 people in the country reported having 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 not trying to address the issue properly and are concerned that less wealthy nations may suffer even more.
ON OUR RADAR
- Hindus filled the streets of Haridwar in India during the largest religious pilgrimage on Earth, defying the rules of social distancing as infections soar.
- Michigan is in the midst 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 became one of the first to allow the private sector to import and sell vaccines. And they are selling.
- Protests erupted Sunday night in Montreal after the city’s last curfew came into effect due to rises in Covid-19 cases.
- A wine and food and wine festival in Florida will require vaccination testing. Its founder explains why.
THE MOST TIP TODAY
As a pediatrician, Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez spends many of her days with nervous mothers and fathers listening to why they worry about their children getting vaccinated. “It often manifests itself as complete disagreements about how to raise children,” Bracho-Sanchez said.
To navigate the complexity, he tells families that he would never judge parents or accuse them of not loving their children less if they fear vaccines. She just asks to be talked about and skeptical parents usually come.
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“The Chinatown was seen as the source from where these diseases arose. The Chinatown was an abandoned neighborhood.”
– Laureen Hom, Assistant Professor of Political Science at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.