Image source: Lilac Garden・Dr. Lilac Epidemic Map
This is the distribution map of the existing confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia 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 newly diagnosed and asymptomatic infections every day. Compared to a few months ago when most of the region had no cases, the current map of the epidemic is completely different.
Many people’s lives have also re-entered the way they were in early 2020, working from home, online classes, grabbing food, quarantine…
The latest research and judgment of the National Health Commission believes that the global and Chinese epidemic will not end in the near future. We still need to pursue the lowest social cost and control the epidemic in the shortest time. The core is fast Response, precise prevention and control. Adhere to the general strategy of “preventing imports from the outside, and preventing rebound from within” and the general policy of “dynamic clearing” unswervingly.
More than 2 years of strict containment has 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 measures to guard against the dead, what preparations are there to do?
Defensive weakness is not enough vaccinations for older adults
The shortcoming of the current epidemic prevention and control is that the elderly in my country do not have enough new crown vaccines.
Let’s take a look at the lessons from Hong Kong, China.
Hong Kong, China, is now experiencing a “fifth wave” of the virus, the worst on record. The new Omicron BA.2 strain overwhelmed the original defenses. As of the 26th, the cumulative number of confirmed diagnoses in Hong Kong, with a population of 7 million, exceeded 1.1 million, and the number of deaths was particularly shocking, exceeding 7,000.
Why are there still so many COVID-19 deaths today? An analysis of these deaths shows that the vast majority are concentrated in the unvaccinated elderly.
Completely unvaccinated Hong Kongers account for less than 10% of the population and 69% of deaths.
Image source: Department of Health, Hong Kong, China
The role of vaccines in reducing deaths from COVID-19 infection is intuitively reflected here.
The risk of severe death after infection with the new coronavirus increases with age, and many deaths may be avoided if the vaccination rate of the elderly increases. 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 the spread as much as possible. The more older people are freed from vaccine protection, the smoother and unimpeded the virus will be.
Hong Kong, China experienced a virus outbreak due to low vaccination rates among the elderly, and the vaccination rates for the elderly in mainland China were not much better.
As of the 25th, the proportion of Hong Kong elderly people over 80 years old who have received at least one injection is 57.1%, and more than 40% have completed two basic injections. The number of elderly people over the age of 80 in mainland China who have completed the basic vaccination is only 50.7%, and there are 52 million elderly people over the age of 60 who have not completed the basic vaccination.
If this shortcoming is not repaired and control is relaxed, there will inevitably be a wave of elderly deaths after infection.
COVID-19 vaccine is safe for older adults
The completion of vaccination for the elderly is relatively low. There are many safety considerations. I am worried about whether the elderly, especially those with chronic diseases, will have more adverse reactions when vaccinating the vaccines that are rapidly developed and marketed. .
There is some truth to this concern in the early days of the vaccine.
Since the publication of technical guidance on Covid-19 vaccination on March 29 last year, Covid-19 vaccination for older adults has been progressively advanced. A lot of safety data have been accumulated in the elderly after vaccination both at home and abroad.
Today we can say with more confidence: Seniors are just as safe to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
In the CDC’s COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Surveillance System, older adults were not found to experience more adverse reactions than other age groups. In addition to the regular third injection strengthening, the United States has begun to promote the “fourth injection” for people over 65 years old, and will soon expand the fourth injection to people over 50 years old.
U.S. President Biden is getting booster shots
Image credit: Associated Press
From the analysis of the monitoring results in my country, the incidence of adverse reactions in the elderly over 60 years old is lower than that in other age groups. The general reaction is mainly manifested as fever, headache, body aches, local pain and redness and swelling. Most of them will heal on their own without special treatment.
Older people with chronic diseases are more at risk of contracting the new crown, as long as the disease is well controlled, vaccination is not a contraindication.
Currently, only the following groups have temporary contraindications to vaccination against COVID-19:
Allergies to the active ingredients of the vaccine, any of the inactive ingredients, substances used in the manufacturing process, or previous vaccinations of the same type;
Patients with previous severe allergic reactions to vaccines (such as acute allergic reactions, angioedema, dyspnea, etc.);
Patients with uncontrolled epilepsy and other serious neurological disorders (eg, transverse myelitis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, demyelinating disorders, etc.);
Fever, acute illness, acute exacerbation of chronic illness, or uncontrolled severe chronic illness;
Pregnant women.
Age is not a “no taboo” for vaccination.
Strengthening needles do work well
There are also people who worry that the current domestic vaccine is not effective.
The most inoculated new crown vaccine in mainland China is the inactivated vaccine. The completion of two injections is now considered to have completed the basic vaccination, and the third injection is the booster injection.
In the face of changing viruses, the booster shot of the inactivated vaccine also showed a good defense performance.
On March 22, the University of Hong Kong published a very important real-world study analyzing the effectiveness of two new crown vaccines in this wave of Omicron BA.2 outbreaks. Hong Kong is different from the mainland. In addition to the new crown inactivated vaccine, citizens can also receive the mRNA vaccine.
Image source: References
In the case of basic vaccination, the effectiveness of the two vaccines in preventing infection is greatly reduced, but they still maintain a good effect in preventing severe illness and death.
Among them, the effective rate of inactivated basic vaccination in preventing severe/critical illness is 91.7% for people aged 20-60, and 72.2% for people over 60 years old. In terms of preventing death, the effective rate was 94% for people aged 20 to 60, and 77.4% for people over 60 years old.
After the booster vaccination of the third dose of the vaccine, the protection has been comprehensively improved, and the prevention of mild symptoms has also begun to have a significant effect.
Intensified prevention of mild/common disease, the effective rate is 42.3% for people aged 20-60, and 50.7% for people over 60 years old. In the prevention of severe/critical illness, the effective rate is 98.5% for people aged 20 to 60, and 97.9% for people over 60 years old. The effective rate of preventing death among people over 60 years old is 98.3%.
Real-world data show that, even in the face of virus mutation, three-needle booster vaccination remains powerful in preventing infection, especially in reducing severe illness and death.
Our goal is not only to complete the basic vaccination, but also to promote the strengthening of the elderly. Hurry up if you haven’t done it yet, and if you can get the third shot, hurry up and get the third shot.
Better vaccinations can be expected in the future
The new coronavirus will definitely change in the future, and our vaccinations will certainly not be a simple repetition of one shot. More reasonable and better vaccination programs and better vaccines will also be used by me.
It is also a real-world study in Hong Kong. We can see that mRNA vaccine boosting, like inactivated vaccine boosting, can effectively reduce severe infection and death in the elderly. In addition, mRNA vaccine boosting It will be better at preventing mild illness.
Data source: References
More to reduce mild symptoms, that is, to better block transmission and protect the group. In the future, if we want to reduce the transmission caused by infection, the booster vaccination of mRNA vaccine may also be a better choice for us.
The research and development of the domestic mRNA new crown vaccine is in full swing, and the preliminary results have been seen. At an appropriate time, the introduction of mRNA vaccines that have been maturely used by Pfizer or Moderna as booster vaccinations will also play an important role in epidemic prevention.
In addition, the development of new vaccines for new strains that are more compatible may also be on the stage in the future.
Increasing the rate of Covid-19 vaccination among the elderly, protecting the elderly from the threat of Covid-19, is also an important means of delaying the spread of Covid-19 and building protective walls.
Whether this round of epidemic can end sooner, 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, whether the new crown epidemic of the elderlyVaccination rate is the key link.
Bring the elderly at home to get vaccinated. For them, and for all of us.
This article reviewer
References
[1] McMenamin ME, 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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Planning: Eric | Producer: Feidi
Cover image source: Zhanku Hailuo