China admitted that its COVID-19 vaccines are not effective

The Chinese coronavirus vaccines are low in efficacy and government is considering combining themThe highest authority in China’s disease control agency said Sunday, in an unusual official admission that China’s vaccines are weak.

Chinese formulas “do not have very high rates of protection,” admitted director of the Chinese Centers for Disease Control, Gao Fu, at a conference on Saturday in the southwestern city of Chengdu.

Beijing has distributed hundreds of millions of doses in other countries and has tried to cast doubt on the effectiveness of Western vaccines.

“Now it is officially considered whether we should use different vaccines from different technical lines for the vaccination process.“Said Gaor. Beijing has yet to approve any foreign vaccines for use in China.

Experts point out that mixing vaccines, or sequential immunization, can increase efficacy rates. Several trials in different parts of the world are studying the effect of mixing vaccines or giving a booster dose after a long time. British researchers are studying a possible combination of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines.

Another option offered in China, in addition to combining the formulas, is to change the interval between inoculations, add a third dose to the vaccination schedule, or change the technology used.

Vaccines produced by two state-owned pharmaceutical companies, Sinovac and Sinopharm, have been exported to 22 countries, such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Turkey, Indonesia, Hungary, Brazil and Turkey, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Brazilian researchers concluded that the efficacy of the Sinovac vaccine in preventing symptomatic infections was only 50.4%, close to the 50% threshold at which experts find a vaccine useful, although the study was conducted. on medical personnel, more exposed to the disease than the general population. In addition, the researchers point out that it has greater effectiveness in preventing serious illnesses. But in comparison, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has shown an efficacy of up to 97%.

Gao did not give details of any changes in science strategy, but did mention messenger RNA., a previously experimental technology used by Western vaccine makers, while Chinese pharmaceutical companies used established techniques. “Everyone should consider the benefits that messenger RNA vaccines can bring to humanity“He said.” We have to follow it carefully and not ignore it just because we already have different types of vaccines. “

Gao himself had in the past questioned the safety of messenger RNA vaccines. The official press agency Xinhua cited his statements in December in which he said he couldn’t rule out negative side effects because it was the first time that vaccines had been used in healthy people.

Officials who held a press conference on Sunday did not respond directly to questions about Gao’s comments or possible changes to official plans. But another member of the Center for Disease Control noted that messenger RNA vaccines were in the works. “The messenger RNA vaccines developed in our country have also entered the phase of clinical trialsSaid the official, Wang Huaqing, who did not give a deadline for its possible distribution.

Chinese state media and popular science and health blogs have also questioned the safety and efficacy of Pfizer’s vaccine, which uses messenger RNA.

As of April 2, some 34 million people had received the required two doses of Chinese vaccines, while 65 million people had already received one, Gao said.

The coronavirus pandemic, which began in central China in late 2019, marked the first time the Chinese pharmaceutical industry has played a role in responding to a global health emergency. Health experts consider Chinese vaccines unlikely to be sold in the United States, Western Europe and Japan due to the complexity of the legal approval process.

(With AP information)

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