Image source: Lilac Garden Lilac Doctor Epidemic Map
This is the distribution map of the existing confirmed areas of COVID-19 in China today.
The local epidemic in 2022 has spread in many places, especially in Jilin, Shanghai, Guangdong, Fujian and other places, with a large number of new confirmed and asymptomatic infections every day. Compared with the absence of cases in most of the region a few months ago, the current epidemic map has completely changed.
Many people's lives have also re-entered the way they were in early 2020, working from home, online classes, grabbing dishes, isolation...
The latest research and judgment of the Health Commission believes that the global and Chinese epidemic will not end in the near future, and we still have to pursue the lowest social cost to control the epidemic in the shortest possible time, the core is rapid response, accurate prevention and control. Adhere to the overall strategy of "external defense against input, internal defense against rebound" and the general policy of "dynamic clearance" without wavering.
More than 2 years of strict prevention and control have exhausted many people. Unlike more than 2 years ago, the virus is constantly mutating, its pathogenicity has declined, and many people have been vaccinated and are no longer unprotected. Countries around the world have made strategic adjustments to fight the epidemic.
If we also have to adjust the prevention and control methods of strict prevention and control, what are the preparations to be done?
The defense shortcoming is that the elderly vaccination is not enough
The current shortcomings in epidemic prevention and control are that the elderly on the mainland have not been vaccinated with enough COVID-19 vaccines.
Let's start by looking at the lessons learned from Hong Kong, China.
Hong Kong, China, is now experiencing the "fifth wave" and the worst COVID-19 outbreak ever. The new Omikeron BA.2 strain has crushed the original defense system. As of the 26th, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong, with a population of 7 million, exceeded 1.1 million, and the death toll was particularly shocking, more than 7,000.
Why are there so many COVID-19 deaths today? An analysis of these deaths reveals that the vast majority are concentrated in the elderly who have not been vaccinated.
Less than 10 percent of Hong Kongers are completely unvaccinated, and 69 percent of deaths.
Image source: Department of Health, Hong Kong, China
The role of vaccines in reducing deaths from COVID-19 infections is evident here.
The risk of severe death after infection with COVID-19 increases with age, and many deaths could have been avoided if vaccination rates in the elderly had increased. This is the most direct protection of the vaccine for the elderly.
In addition to protecting the elderly themselves, the vaccination of more elderly people is also a national defense measure to cut off transmission as much as possible. The more elderly people who are out of vaccine protection, the smoother the spread of the virus will be without hindrance.
Hong Kong, China, has experienced a virus ravage because of the low vaccination rate of the elderly, and the vaccination rate of the elderly in Chinese mainland has not improved much.
As of the 25th, the proportion of elderly people over the age of 80 in Hong Kong who have received at least one injection is 57.1%, and more than 40% have completed two basic vaccinations. Chinese mainland only 50.7% of the elderly over the age of 80 have completed basic vaccination, and 52 million people over the age of 60 have not completed basic vaccination.
If this shortcoming is not repaired and control is relaxed, there will inevitably be a wave of elderly deaths after infection.
It is safe for the elderly to receive the COVID-19 vaccine
The completion of vaccination in the elderly is low, and many of them are safety considerations, and they are worried that the elderly, especially in the case of combined chronic diseases, will not have more adverse reactions to the vaccines that are rapidly developed and marketed.
There is some justification for this concern in the early stages of the vaccine's launch.
Since the release of the technical guidelines for COVID-19 vaccination on March 29 last year, COVID-19 vaccination for the elderly has been gradually promoted. At home and abroad, more safety data after vaccination have been accumulated for the elderly.
Today we can say more bluntly: the elderly are equally safe to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
In the CDC's COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring system in the United States, no older people were found to have more adverse reactions than people of other age groups. In addition to the regular third dose, the United States has begun to promote the "fourth shot" for people over the age of 65, and will soon expand the fourth shot to people over 50 years old.
U.S. President Joe Biden is getting an intensive injection
Image source: Associated Press
From the analysis of the results of monitoring in the mainland, the incidence of adverse reactions in the elderly over 60 years old is lower than that of other age groups. General reactions, mainly manifested as fever, headache, body aches, local pain and redness, most of them do not require special treatment to heal themselves.
Elderly people with chronic diseases are more at risk of contracting the new crown, as long as the condition is well controlled, and it is not a contraindication to vaccination.
Currently, there are only the following groups of people, and there are temporary contraindications to COVID-19 vaccination:
Persons who are allergic to the active ingredient of the vaccine, any of the inactive ingredients, substances used in the production process, or those who have been allergic to the same vaccine in the past;
Those who have had a previous severe allergic reaction to the vaccine (eg, acute allergic reaction, angioedema, dyspnea, etc.);
People with uncontrolled epilepsy and other serious neurological disorders (e.g., transverse myelitis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, demyelinating disease, etc.);
A person with a fever, or suffering from an acute illness, or an acute onset of a chronic disease, or a person with an uncontrolled severe chronic disease;
Pregnant women.
Age is not a "contraindication" to vaccination.
Reinforcing needles do have a good effect
There are also concerns that the current domestic vaccine is not effective.
The covid-19 vaccine with the most vaccinated Chinese mainland is the inactivated vaccine, and the completion of two injections is currently considered to have completed the basic vaccination, and the third injection is the booster injection.
In the face of the ever-changing virus, inactivated vaccine boosters have also shown good defensive results.
On March 22, the University of Hong Kong published a very important real-world study analyzing the effectiveness of two COVID-19 vaccines under the Aomi Kerong BA.2 pandemic. Unlike the mainland, citizens in Hong Kong can also receive the mRNA vaccine in addition to the COVID-19 inactivated vaccine.
Image source: References
Both vaccines are significantly less effective at preventing infection under the condition of basic vaccination, but still maintain a good effect on the prevention of severe illness and death.
Among them, inactivated basic vaccination has an effective rate of 91.7% in the prevention of severe/critical illness in people aged 20 to 60 years and 72.2% in people over 60 years old. In terms of preventing deaths, the effective rate was 94% for people aged 20 to 60 years and 77.4% for people over 60 years of age.
After the intensive vaccination of the third dose of vaccine, the protective power has been comprehensively improved, and it has begun to have a significant effect on the prevention of mild diseases.
After intensive prevention of mild/common disease, the effective rate was 42.3% in people aged 20 to 60 years and 50.7% in people over 60 years old. For the prevention of severe/critical illness, the effective rate is 98.5% in people aged 20 to 60 years and 97.9% in people over 60 years of age. The effectiveness rate for preventing deaths in people over 60 years of age is 98.3%.
Real-world data show that even in the face of viral mutations, three-shot intensive vaccination remains powerful in preventing infection, especially in reducing severe illness and death.
Our goal is not only to complete basic vaccinations, but also to promote intensive vaccinations for the elderly. Those who have not yet been shot are quickly hit, and those who can get the third shot are quickly given the third shot.
Better vaccinations can be expected in the future
The new crown virus will certainly change in the future, and our vaccinations will certainly not be a simple one-shot repetition. More reasonable and better vaccination programs, better vaccines will also be used by me.
Also in real-world research in Hong Kong, we can see that mRNA vaccine fortification, like inactivated vaccine fortification, can effectively reduce the severity of infection and death in the elderly, in addition, mRNA vaccine will be better at preventing mild diseases.
Source: References
More mild diseases are reduced, that is, transmission can be better blocked and the group can be protected. In the future, if we want to reduce the spread caused by infection, intensive vaccination of mRNA vaccines may also be a better choice for us.
The research and development of the domestic mRNA new crown vaccine is in full swing and has seen preliminary results. When appropriate, the introduction of mRNA vaccines that have matured to Pfizer or Modena as an enhanced vaccination will also play an important role in epidemic prevention.
In addition, the development of new vaccines that are more compatible with new strains may also take the stage in the future.
Increasing the vaccination rate of the elderly and protecting the elderly from the threat of the new crown are also an important means to delay the spread of the new crown and build a protective wall.
Whether this round of the epidemic can end faster, whether we can finally win the battle against the new crown virus, whether we have the opportunity to adjust the future new crown epidemic prevention strategy, and the level of the new crown vaccination rate of the elderly are all key links.
Take the elderly at home to get vaccinated. For them, and for all of us.
This article is reviewed by experts
bibliography
[1] McMenamin M E, Nealon J, Lin Y, et al. Vaccine effectiveness of two and three doses of BNT162b2 and CoronaVac against COVID-19 in Hong Kong[J]. medRxiv, 2022.
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Curator: Eric | Executive Producer: Feidi
Cover image source: Stand Cool Helo