People wait for their turn to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in Beijing. Photo: AP According to CNBC, within just 5 days of May, China injected 100 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to its people. Health officials hope to be able to vaccinate 80% of its 1.4 billion population by the end of 2021. As of June 2, China has injected a total of over 704 million doses of vaccine, of which half were administered in May. The total number of doses of COVID-19 vaccine that China has given to the population accounts for about one-third in one. ,9 billion doses of vaccine are distributed globally. The call to vaccinate is from all walks of life. Companies inject workers, schools urge students and teachers to immunize, local authorities urge people to vaccinate. According to Our World in Data, in 7 days, China is injecting an average of 19 million doses per day. With a population a quarter of China’s, the US only injected 3.4 million doses / day in April – when the vaccination campaign was operating at full speed. A medical worker administers a COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination site in Shanghai, China. Photo: THX/VNA On May 30, Zhong Nanshan, the head of an expert group of the National Health Commission of China, said that 40% of the Chinese population has been vaccinated with at least one dose, and the government’s goal is to fully immunize all patients. this number at the end of June. In the capital Beijing, 87% of people have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccination in Beijing is easy because there are hundreds of vaccination service points throughout the city. Vaccination buses are parked right in crowded areas such as city centers and commercial centers. However, vaccination in other areas is not as easy as in the capital. Ms. Zhou Hongxia, a resident of Lanzhou, Gansu province, said: “I started waiting in line for the injection at 9am and didn’t get the injection until 6pm. It’s tiring. When I returned, there were still people waiting.” Ms. Zhou’s husband couldn’t even schedule a vaccination. On May 31, government officials said they were working to ensure the supply of COVID-19 vaccine is distributed more evenly. Not only focusing on inoculating people in the country, China also injects its citizens abroad when donating vaccines to Thailand, part of which is used to vaccinate the Chinese before giving them to Thai people. Globally, China has injected more than 500,000 citizens abroad. Before the domestic vaccination campaign accelerated in recent weeks, many Chinese people were in no hurry to get vaccinated because China had almost no cases in the community thanks to tight border controls and mandatory isolation. Recently, China has appeared many small clusters of infection and is suppressing the cluster in Guangzhou. According to analysts, despite the uneven distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, Chinese manufacturers have hardly had problems with the scale of production. Both companies that produce most of the COVID-19 vaccines being used in China, Sinovac and Sinopharm, have drastically increased production, built new factories and converted existing factories to produce COVID-19 vaccines. . Vaccines of Sinovac Biotech (China) at a vaccination center in Bangkok, Thailand on May 12, 2021. Photo: THX/VNA Vaccines from Sinovac and one from Sinopharm have been approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization. “Where in the world can match China in terms of construction speed? How long does it take China to build field hospitals? Just a few days.” Sinovac said it has doubled production capacity to 2 billion doses/year, while Sinopharm said it can produce 3 billion doses/year. From the beginning of the year to the end of May, Sinovac produced 540 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Government support is crucial for vaccine manufacturers at every stage. Sinopharm said that right from the start of the vaccine research, it had borrowed a laboratory at a government research center. Chinese vaccine companies largely do not depend on imported products in the production process, so the scenario of shortage of raw materials and ingredients like the Serum Institute in India should be avoided. As of June 4, China had 91,194 cases of COVID-19, of which 4,636 died.

Governments, medical experts and researchers are working to find the most effective strategies to deploy Covid-19 vaccination to quickly create herd immunity as the pandemic continues to sweep the world. limited supply of vaccines. According to the journal Nature, the world needs about 11 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine to immunize 70% of the world’s population, in case each person must receive two doses. However, the latest statistics of Bloomberg news show that, as of June 2, a total of more than 1.94 billion doses have been injected across 176 countries, equivalent to nearly 12.7% of the global population. required to be fully immunized. The situation of Covid-19 vaccination worldwide in terms of vaccination rate for the whole population (%). Graphics: Bloomberg In addition, there is inequality in vaccine distribution, with rich countries, which account for only 19% of the world’s population, capturing more than 50% of the full year’s supply while low- and middle-income countries, accounting for more than 50% of the total supply. More than 80% of the world’s population has access to less than a third of the vaccines shipped, exacerbating the problem. A conundrum now is how humanity can overcome the pandemic at the earliest when it is estimated that the total number of vaccines produced and distributed in the world in 2021 is only about 6 billion doses. more than 55% of the forecast demand mentioned above? Countries that have received the highest number of doses of Covid-19 vaccine in the world as of June 2. Source: Bloomberg Classification of priority groups for vaccination In order to optimize the mass vaccination campaign against SARS-CoV-2 virus in the current difficult conditions, most governments have decided to prioritize pre-vaccination for groups at high risk of infection with the virus. such as frontline medical staff, forces directly in charge of fighting the epidemic, people over 65 years old, people with chronic diseases or workers in the group providing essential services. In addition to the above approach, governments and scientists are also trying other solutions to achieve the most effective vaccination strategy possible while waiting for vaccine manufacturers to increase production and abundant supplies. more abundant. Experimental mixing of vaccines Some countries have recently considered mixing different vaccines to address shortages and delays in supply. The idea is not new, as scientists have been experimenting with this approach for decades against Ebola and HIV viruses. In the UK, scientists have decided to expand the study in the use of combinations of Covid-19 vaccines to assess whether mixing them is safe and helps prolong immunity in vaccinated people. strains or not. In February 2021, Oxford University began promoting a study called Com-Cov, whereby volunteers will be vaccinated with the first and second doses of two vaccines AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech. Preliminary research results, published in the Lancet medical journal in mid-May, revealed that mixing the two vaccines would increase the side effects of the vaccine, such as fatigue and headaches over time. short and in light form. Photo: Healthmag “It’s a finding that we didn’t anticipate. We still don’t know if this approach is associated with an improved immune response. We’ll find that out in a few weeks.” “, Professor Matthew Snape, who led the study, said on May 14. Snape and his colleagues also recently added Moderna and Novavax vaccines to the trial program. The authors hope that, if their study can demonstrate that the mixed vaccination produces an immune response as well as the standard vaccination and does not significantly increase the response to the vaccine, there will be more people complete their immunization plans sooner. This will also assist the health system in responding in the event of a shortage of any currently used vaccines. Similarly, the Philippine Department of Science and Technology (DOST) on May 24 also announced that it would start a study on mixing China’s Sinovac vaccine with other vaccines available in the country such as AstraZeneca, Pfizer/ BioNTech and Sputnik from June this year to November 2022. DOST Secretary Fortunato Dela Pena explained that Sinovac was the main target of the study because it is the most stable supply in the Philippines, accounting for 5.5 million doses out of the approximately 8.3 million doses the country has received for until now. Manila is aiming to have vaccinated more than half of its 110 million population by this year. However, according to Nikkei Asia, the nationwide vaccination campaign is facing many challenges when people focus on injecting only “branded” vaccines such as Pfizer, forcing many local governments to keep the name of the vaccine secret. Please be used in vaccinations. More spacing between injections In accordance with the regimen and recommendations of the vaccine manufacturers against Covid-19, after giving the first dose to the patient, after 3-4 weeks, medical facilities will inject the second dose (21 days apart for patients). with Pfizer vaccine and 28 days with AstraZeneca vaccine). However, the British government has decided to extend the interval between the two shots to 12 weeks to have enough vaccine to vaccinate more people. This decision caused a lot of controversy. However, British medical advisers explain, because most vaccines are proven to be more than 50% effective after the first shot, doing so will help increase immunity for more people against dangerous pathogens and help speed up the national immunization campaign. The number of new infections and deaths from Covid-19 is falling sharply in the UK. Graphics: Reuters There are no formal studies on the effectiveness of the initiative yet. However, there is an undeniable fact that the foggy country is sharply reducing the number of cases and deaths from Covid-19, allowing the country to start easing restrictive measures against the epidemic from 12/02. 4 and aims to get the country out of lockdown this summer. Vaccination for people 12 years of age and older The European Commission has approved the use of Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine for children 12 years of age and older, European Union (EU) Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides announced on May 31. , giving the bloc’s member countries the option to expand their vaccination programmes. On the same day, the Japanese Government also announced a similar decision. The move took place not long after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 10 approved the use of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for children aged 12-15. Previously, the product was only approved by the FDA. emergency use permission for persons 16 years of age and older. President Joe Biden called the FDA’s new step a promising development in the fight against the epidemic. Before the US, Canada on May 5 became the first country in the world to agree to expand the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine recipients to children 12 years of age and older, citing more benefits. risk. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that developed countries suspend the implementation of immunization for adolescents in order to share the surplus vaccine resources with poorer countries that have a shortage of vaccination supplies for children. older, high-risk groups. “The pandemic has proven that no one is safe until everyone is safe. Equal access to a Covid-19 vaccine is within our grasp. The sooner we do it, the better. The faster our lives and our children’s lives return to normal,” emphasized Ms. Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF.

The WHO Independent Panel of Experts recommends the use of Sinovac vaccine for people over 18 years of age. The evaluation data show that this vaccine is effective in protection in the elderly. Sinovac is the second Chinese vaccine approved by WHO for emergency use. (Photo: Reuters) WHO’s decision was made based on a review of the latest clinical data on the safety and efficacy of Sinovac’s vaccine as well as the company’s manufacturing practices. On May 5, the WHO technical advisory group met, reviewed and evaluated the Sinovac vaccine. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that Sinovac vaccine is safe and effective, emphasizing that it does not require a high level of vaccine preservation, suitable for low-income countries. “Now it’s important to get these life-saving tools quickly into the hands of those who need them.” , the head of WHO said. Sinovac is the second Chinese vaccine approved by WHO for emergency use. On May 7, the Sinopharm vaccine became the first vaccine not from a Western pharmaceutical company to be approved by the WHO. Meanwhile, China’s third vaccine, manufactured by CanSino Biologics, has also submitted clinical trial data. However, WHO has not yet scheduled an assessment. As of the end of May, Sinovac pharmaceutical company has supplied more than 600 million doses inside and outside China, of which more than 430 million doses have been used.

In the statement, the WHO’s independent expert panel recommended that Sinovac be given to adults over 18 years of age, with a second dose initiated every 2-4 weeks. There is no age limit for this vaccine, as data shows it is likely to protect older adults. This is the second Chinese vaccine approved by the WHO for emergency use – after the Sinopharm vaccine approved in early May. Covid-19 vaccine box manufactured by Sinovac pharmaceutical company. Photo: Anadolu Agency. A third Chinese vaccine, manufactured by CanSino Biologics, has submitted clinical trial data, but WHO has not scheduled a review. Sinovac said it had delivered more than 600 million doses of the vaccine at home and abroad as of the end of May, of which more than 430 million had been administered. In addition, China has deployed hundreds of millions of doses of its own vaccines – including Sinopharm and Sinovac – to many countries, especially in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Many of these countries have difficulty finding a vaccine developed by the West.