China mulls Covid-19 booster shots for some as Delta variant spreads

BEIJING, July 31 (Bloomberg): China is studying if it’s necessary to give booster Covid-19 vaccine shots to vulnerable groups such as the elderly, people with underlying diseases and those who work in high-risk areas.

There isn’t yet enough evidence to suggest that a third shot is needed for everyone, Wang Huaqing, an expert with Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a press briefing Saturday.

The country recorded 328 new locally-transmitted cases in July, almost equaling the amount of cases reported in the previous five months combined, National Health Commission spokesman Mi Feng said at the same briefing.

The virus being transmitted currently is mostly the delta variant, but China’s virus control measures are still effective against it, Mi said.

Mass vaccinations alone can’t contain the spread of the delta strain, and must be complimented with stringent curbs such as social distancing and the wearing of masks, said Shao Yiming, a researcher with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s the lesson from many developed countries, where cases are rebounding after authorities eased Covid restrictions when they reached a high vaccination rate level, he said.

The government will also step up its work on vaccinating the elderly and teenagers, National Health Commission official He Qinghua said. - Boomberg

https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/as ... nt-spreads

PHOTOS
First Day of COVID-19 Vaccination for Under-18s in Phnom Penh
AKP Phnom Penh, August 01, 2021--

Freightdog wrote: ↑Sun Aug 01, 2021 6:55 pm Specifically concerning Khmer, and with all the donated vaccines, I only ever hear about sino- vaccines, and the voiced mistrust among some locals. Is this a Khmer misinterpretation/generalisation that they generally don’t know about any other vaccines, or have no other vaccines been administered?

Apart from Sinopharm/Sinovac they only got 220k doses of AZ. Now another 1m AZ finally coming, donated by Japan and 1m J&J from the US. The AZ will be used for third shots, and who knows about the J&J, maybe they will use those for that as well. They all seem to perform better when mix and matched.

PSD-Kiwi wrote: ↑Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:48 pm

timmydownawell wrote: ↑Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:14 pm ... and who knows about the J&J

PM said today he plans to prioritise their use in remote locations, as it eases the burden logistically because only 1 dose is required.

And if it turns out the Chinese vaccines were not effective, then thats what most of the population will have. One dose.

Youth vaccinations also began on 1 August, 2021, at Steung Hav High School in Sihanoukville province:

@Bitte_Kein_Lexus
I haven't followed it closely but got the impression most of the Sinovac was purchased from the manufacturer whilst the Chinese government donated smaller numbers.