3 ms·

Wrt. mRNA boosters, I know it is a common talking point that China is in trouble because it doesn't have mRNA-vaccines but I believe the vaccines that China hav

Wrt. mRNA boosters, I know it is a common talking point that China is in trouble because it doesn't have mRNA-vaccines but I believe the vaccines that China have is of the type as the AstraZeneca vaccine, that is commonly used in the UK which now is free of COVID-restrictions. In other words; if is China is willing, it can go down the same path of vax-and-let-it-rip.

y7 5y ago
For a booster (3rd shot), the UK only uses mRNA vaccines. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-booster-dose-resources/covid-19-vaccination-a-guide-to-booster-vaccination-for-individuals-aged-18-years-and-over https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccinat... Edit: changed my ambiguous wording
- jl6 5y ago
  Not true, Pfizer was used in the initial vaccination rollout too.
- matthewmacleod 5y ago
  Neither of these points are quite correct - mRNA vaccines were extensively used for both initial vaccinations and boosters in the UK. IIRC the AZ vaccine was quite quickly withdrawn for everyone under 40.
- grapescheesee 5y ago
  - endless1234 5y ago
    What? More than two doses is extremely common for vaccines. See e.g. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/child-adolescent.html https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/child-adolesc...
  - grumbelbart 5y ago
    Huh? Plenty of previous non-covid vaccines require more than two shots.
    - midasuni 5y ago
      I suspect they did their own research
  - bonzini 5y ago
    Infants have three or four doses for some of their vaccines.
  - HstryrsrBttn 5y ago
    Utter nonsense. A lot of vaccines need multiple shots -- independent of the duration of the protection.
- bigDinosaur 5y ago
  Minor thing, but that'll probably be expanded to include Novavax in a relatively short amount of time. Not that it matters much for the progression of the pandemic (it's far too late to make a big difference, and will only mop up a few vaccine hesitant people).
petesergeant 5y ago
AZ is adenovirus vector (like J&J, Sputnik), SinoVac and Sinopharm are inactivated. > if is China is willing, it can go down the same path of vax-and-let-it-rip Many many fewer Chinese have immunity from having had the virus than Brits
- throwaway4good 5y ago
  The one made by CanSino is adenovirus vector. The point I am trying to make is that this is a political choice rather than a question of access to technology.
- eggy 5y ago
  >Many many fewer Chinese have immunity from having had the virus than Brits Exactly, quick, strict lockdowns at first puts off the infections to come later when you return a largely non-immune population to business as usual. Zero-COVID should not be the aim, but only to spread out the load on hospitals and emergency care facilities. You want your vulnerable population to get vaccinated, and the less vulnerable who become infected no matter what, build your immune base.
ChemSpider 5y ago
"but I believe the vaccines that China have is of the type as the AstraZeneca vaccine" Absolutely not. And that is they key problem. Personally I was quite sure that Beijing would allow Biontech sooner or later, especially since the Chinese company Fosun was a very smart early investor in BNT. But unfortunately it seems Xi's nationalism is now so strong that he is willing to let many people die for it.
- throwaway4good 5y ago
  Sorry. What I wrote is clearly incorrect. It should have said: Some of the vaccines that China have is of the same type as the AstraZeneca vaccine.
  - ChemSpider 5y ago
    I don't think so. What vaccine should that be? Sinovac is certainly not.
    - throwaway4good 5y ago
      https://covid19.trackvaccines.org/vaccines/2/ https://covid19.trackvaccines.org/vaccines/2/
skrause 5y ago
China is more likely to go the Hong-Kong route (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-60474342 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-60474342), i.e. a very high death rate even with Omicron because they (unlike the UK) haven't managed to vaccinate a high percentage of their old population.

y7 5y ago

For a booster (3rd shot), the UK only uses mRNA vaccines. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-booster-dose-resources/covid-19-vaccination-a-guide-to-booster-vaccination-for-individuals-aged-18-years-and-over https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccinat... Edit: changed my ambiguous wording

jl6 5y ago
Not true, Pfizer was used in the initial vaccination rollout too.
matthewmacleod 5y ago
Neither of these points are quite correct - mRNA vaccines were extensively used for both initial vaccinations and boosters in the UK. IIRC the AZ vaccine was quite quickly withdrawn for everyone under 40.
grapescheesee 5y ago
- endless1234 5y ago
  What? More than two doses is extremely common for vaccines. See e.g. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/child-adolescent.html https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/child-adolesc...
- grumbelbart 5y ago
  Huh? Plenty of previous non-covid vaccines require more than two shots.
  - midasuni 5y ago
    I suspect they did their own research
- bonzini 5y ago
  Infants have three or four doses for some of their vaccines.
- HstryrsrBttn 5y ago
  Utter nonsense. A lot of vaccines need multiple shots -- independent of the duration of the protection.
bigDinosaur 5y ago
Minor thing, but that'll probably be expanded to include Novavax in a relatively short amount of time. Not that it matters much for the progression of the pandemic (it's far too late to make a big difference, and will only mop up a few vaccine hesitant people).

petesergeant 5y ago

AZ is adenovirus vector (like J&J, Sputnik), SinoVac and Sinopharm are inactivated. > if is China is willing, it can go down the same path of vax-and-let-it-rip Many many fewer Chinese have immunity from having had the virus than Brits

throwaway4good 5y ago
The one made by CanSino is adenovirus vector. The point I am trying to make is that this is a political choice rather than a question of access to technology.
eggy 5y ago
>Many many fewer Chinese have immunity from having had the virus than Brits Exactly, quick, strict lockdowns at first puts off the infections to come later when you return a largely non-immune population to business as usual. Zero-COVID should not be the aim, but only to spread out the load on hospitals and emergency care facilities. You want your vulnerable population to get vaccinated, and the less vulnerable who become infected no matter what, build your immune base.

ChemSpider 5y ago

"but I believe the vaccines that China have is of the type as the AstraZeneca vaccine" Absolutely not. And that is they key problem. Personally I was quite sure that Beijing would allow Biontech sooner or later, especially since the Chinese company Fosun was a very smart early investor in BNT. But unfortunately it seems Xi's nationalism is now so strong that he is willing to let many people die for it.

throwaway4good 5y ago
Sorry. What I wrote is clearly incorrect. It should have said: Some of the vaccines that China have is of the same type as the AstraZeneca vaccine.
- ChemSpider 5y ago
  I don't think so. What vaccine should that be? Sinovac is certainly not.
  - throwaway4good 5y ago
    https://covid19.trackvaccines.org/vaccines/2/ https://covid19.trackvaccines.org/vaccines/2/

skrause 5y ago

China is more likely to go the Hong-Kong route (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-60474342 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-60474342), i.e. a very high death rate even with Omicron because they (unlike the UK) haven't managed to vaccinate a high percentage of their old population.