Omi kerong replicates 70 times faster in the respiratory tract! Zhang Wenhong: "It is not a live attenuated vaccine"

A study led by researchers at the University of Hong Kong's Li Ka Shing School of Medicine provided information about the respiratory transmission of the COVID-19 "Omilon" variant strain. Studies have shown that "Omiqueron" infects and multiplies in the bronchi 70 times faster than the Delta variant strain and the original strain of the new crown, which partly explains the rapid spread of "Omikeron" in a short period of time.

The study also showed that the infection of the "Omilon" variant in the human lungs was significantly lower than that of the original strain of the new crown, and lung infection was a key indicator of the severity of the disease, which to some extent also explained the situation that the "Omilon" infection was mostly mild.

The virus has a significant escape from the two-shot vaccine

Professor John Nicholls of the University of Hong Kong School of Medicine and Professor Michael Chan Chi-wai of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park (HKSTP) isolated the "Omikejong" variant and used in vitro culture models to compare the infections of "Omikejong", "Delta" and the original strains of COVID-19 in the respiratory tract. It was found that 24 hours after infection with the virus, the replication rate of "Omi kerong" in the respiratory tract was about 70 times that of the other two strains, but in the lung tissue, the replication efficiency of "Omi kerong" was less than 1/10 of that of the original strain.

The above study is currently being peer reviewed for formal publication. In this regard, Zhang Wenhong, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases of Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, posted on Weibo in the early morning of December 17: "The level of replication of the new virus in the bronchi is significantly higher than that of Delta, and the transmission rate is significantly aggravated on the basis of Delta. Without further tightening public health and social measures (PHSM) such as school closures, it will be difficult to stop the rapid spread of Ami kerong and defeat Delta. ”

In addition, researchers such as Yuan Guoyong, a microbiologist at the University of Hong Kong, published an important study on the preprint website MedRxiv this week to make an important judgment: the virus has significantly evaded the two-shot vaccination and can no longer block the spread of the virus. The study has been peer-reviewed and will soon be published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

The serum study of 25 two-dose Koxing vaccinators found that no antibodies capable of neutralizing "Omiljung" were detected, and in addition, only 20% to 24% of those vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer/BioNTech were detectable with neutralizing antibodies against "Omikron". Researchers believe that a third dose of the vaccine is "imminent."

Anthony Fauci, the White House's chief medical adviser, recently quoted Data from South Africa as saying that "Omilon" significantly reduced the protection rate of infection from the two vaccines of Pfizer and BioNTech to 33%, compared with 80% before the mutation appeared.

Judging from the current laboratory research of vaccine manufacturers, Kexing said that laboratory tests have shown that the third dose of Kexing vaccine can effectively produce antibodies against "Omi kerong". Pfizer and BioNTech also said last week that preliminary numbers of lab studies suggest that vaccination with a booster vaccine remains effective against "Omilon." In addition, a study from researchers in the United States showed that receiving a third dose of the Moderna booster vaccine restores most of the immune response, including antibodies against "Omikejung".

The third dose of the Chinese vaccine is effective against "Omi Kerong"

"The Hong Kong team and the international team confirmed that the third dose of vaccination can still significantly reduce the incidence of symptomatic COVID-19 and still help control the incidence of hospitalizations and deaths." Zhang Wenhong said on the latest Weibo. He also said that the strengthening of the third dose of vaccination in many countries shows that "Omi kerong is not a live attenuated vaccine".

Zhang Wenhong said that he and his Team of the National Center for Infectious Disease Medicine in Shanghai and Beijing have completed a third-party assessment of the effects of homologous and heterologous third injections in China, and the results of the study have been fully communicated with international vaccine experts. "The study we are reviewing has been revised back and is expected to be officially published next week." Zhang Wenhong told the first financial reporter.

Zhang Wenhong revealed that the main research of his team confirmed that China's third vaccination can still retain the neutralizing effect on the "Omi Kerong" and "Delta" variants, with the potential to reduce the incidence of severe cases.

On November 23, Zhang Wenhong's team published a research paper entitled "Recombinant Protein Subunit Vaccine as a Booster After Receiving Two Doses of Inactivated Vaccine, Significantly Enhancing anti-RBD response and neutralizing antibody titers of anti-COVID-19 variant strains" in the journal Cell Research, evaluating the effect of recombinant protein vaccines as heterologous vaccinations and demonstrating that heterologous immune enhancement can induce higher antibody GMT levels.

However, the study did not assess the vaccine's effectiveness in terms of covid-19 breakthrough infections and for COVID-19 morbidity and mortality after booster vaccination. The continuity of enhanced immunity against the COVID-19 variant after booster vaccination also needs to be further evaluated.

Zhang Wenhong expects that China's follow-up third vaccine optimization strategy is expected to be fully completed in 2021, and it will enter 2022 at the same time as the international community, when it is expected to achieve the "comprehensive control of the new crown epidemic" expected by WHO, and the people of the world will meet ordinary and stable life.

The WHO warned this week that the "Omilon" spreads "faster than any previous COVID-19 variant." Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's Head of COVID-19 Technology, stressed: "The Omikeron variant should not be considered a mild strain, as the accelerated rate of transmission will lead to more hospitalizations, which will increase the burden on an already strained healthcare system and lead to more deaths." ”

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, there are currently nearly 120,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States every day, which is a 50% increase from a month ago, and the average number of deaths per day has reached about 1200. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts that the death rate from COVID-19 infections will rise in the coming weeks.

More scientific data on the transmigration and pathogenicity of "Omi Kerong" are still to be verified. Uk health officials said on Thursday that "reliable data" is expected to be released between Christmas and next year's New Year's Day holiday, and the number of hospitalisations in the UK currently confirmed to infect "Omi Kerong" is 15 and is expected to grow significantly in the future.