Advertising
Supported by
The local vaccine is a tool that China lacked, a vaccine founded on a generation considered one of the most effective in the world.
Send a story to any friend.
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift pieces to offer per month. Everyone can read what you share.
By Nicole Hong and Alexandra Stevenson
China has first approved a Covid-19 vaccine powered by mRNA technology, giving the green light to a local vaccine months after the ruling Communist Party lifted its strict pandemic restrictions.
China has long refused to use foreign-made mRNA injections that would mitigate the pandemic in many parts of the world and which the United States first legalized for emergency use in December 2020. Instead, Beijing chose to announce its own pharmaceutical companies, first in the launch of a more classic but less effective Covid vaccine, and later, in the search for an mRNA or messenger RNA vaccine.
China’s new mRNA vaccine, developed through CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. , founded in the northern Chinese city of Shijiazhuang, has been approved for emergency use through China’s physical activity regulator, a company said Wednesday.
Among the vaccines recently available in China, the most productive known are those manufactured by Sinopharm and Sinovac. Like other classic vaccines, they rely on a century-old inoculation approach, which uses an inactivated virus to elicit an immune formula response, and has since been shown to be less effective in protecting against symptomatic diseases.
mRNA vaccines use a genetic molecule that helps cells make proteins that can cause an immune reaction in the body. As new variants of Covid-19 become increasingly elusive for classic and new vaccines, mRNA generation allows scientists to temporarily modify injections to target new strains. .
China’s new vaccine comes at a time when China and its leader, Xi Jinping, are seeking to revive an economy that has been hit by some of the world’s toughest covid-19 restrictions. This month, China reopened its borders to foreign travelers for the first time. Time since 2020, when the pandemic began.
For much of the pandemic, Chinese citizens have lived under the country’s “zero covid” policy, when unpredictable lockdowns prevented tens of millions of citizens from leaving their homes for weeks. In giant cities, tests were P. C. R. Se required every one and every one to 3 days to enter any public space.
The government’s efforts to eliminate covid have been effective in keeping infections at bay, but have led to factory disruptions, job losses and a drop in customer spending. The tight restrictions sparked nationwide protests last November, the biggest challenge to M’s authority. Xi since he was president in 2013.
China’s handling of the pandemic has also come under closer scrutiny, with the country facing fresh complaint over its efforts to thwart investigations into the origins of the pandemic. origin of the virus to wild animals, asking why there was no knowledge 3 years ago and why it has now disappeared.
With little warning, officials ended the “zero covid” policy in early December, mass testing booths and pandemic protocols virtually overnight.
A covid outbreak temporarily spread across the country and hit poorly prepared hospitals, with fatal consequences. 1. 5 million people.
At the height of the covid wave, some mainland citizens ventured across the border into the Chinese territory of Macau to locate foreign-made mRNA vaccines. Meanwhile, China also began widely distributing Pfizer’s Paxlovid, an oral remedy that particularly reduces the threat of hospitalization and death. .
As covid infections decline, many Chinese citizens said they are eager to resume their pre-pandemic routines. Domestic tourism is booming and subways in major cities are teeming with travelers.
As of mid-March, China’s positivity rate among CPR tests was below 1 percent, up from a peak of 29. 2 percent in December, according to Chinese government data. The figures are becoming less reliable as the government has halted normal mass testing. and made the home testing report voluntary.
Developing one’s own mRNA projectile is a national pride and a blessing for the leadership of the Communist Party. Creating an mRNA vaccine from scratch is no small feat, Mavens said. the world.
Early in the pandemic, China sent its vaccines to the world’s poorest countries, hoping to use them to build allies and fix broken diplomatic ties. However, the crusade lost momentum when officials in several countries expressed doubts about the effectiveness of Chinese vaccines. to more transmissible variants.
CSPC Pharmaceutical did not say when the vaccine would be available to the public. Company representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Until last summer, China appeared to be on track to approve BioNTech, a German mRNA vaccine manufactured in partnership with Pfizer. He then replaced management, virtually abandoning BioNTech’s approval process.
The delay in detecting a foreign mRNA vaccine appeared to be part of a deeply political exercise, as the country became more introspective under M. Xi, who encouraged Chinese companies to become self-sufficient.
As the pandemic continued, China also struggled to vaccinate its population, especially its elderly residents.
At a press conference in November, just before the country’s covid restrictions were relaxed, the Chinese fitness government said that among other people over 80, around 66% were fully vaccinated; Only 40% had a memory.
As the government withdrew from the “zero covid” policy, more citizens gave the impression of being vaccinated. Nationwide, about 91 percent received their first two vaccines, according to the latest data.
Zixu Wang contributed to the research.
Advertising