Recombinant COVID-19 booster needle can effectively cover the virus variation. Which population is suitable for giving priority to COVID-19's third injection

Recently, Chen Wei, a researcher of the Military Medical Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences, received an authoritative interview on COVID-19 vaccine. In the interview, he said that the recombinant COVID-19 vaccine can effectively cover the virus variation. So which groups of people are suitable for priority vaccination of the recombinant COVID-19 vaccine? Let's take a look at the interview content below.

What is the current progress of the recombinant COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences? What are the characteristics of this vaccine? How long will it take for the Phase III clinical trial to be successfully launched on a large scale? Who is suitable for vaccination? Does the vaccine have preventive effect on the mutated COVID-19? What is the current global position of China's vaccine research and development progress? In response to these problems, Xinhua News Agency reporters recently interviewed Chen Wei, the winner of the national honorary title of "People's Hero", an academician of the CAE Member, and a researcher of the Military Medical Research Institute of the Academy of Military Sciences.

"What are the characteristics of the recombinant COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Academy of Military Sciences? ”[SEP] Chen Wei: We have independent intellectual property rights for this vaccine, which means we don't have to rely on others' faces to develop our vaccine at any time and in any situation. In the subsequent production and application of vaccines, we can also provide Chinese people with timely vaccination at a lower price when needed.

This is a technologically advanced viral vector vaccine. Its prominent feature is that it can have both humoral immunity (antibodies and neutralizing antibodies) and cellular immunity. Due to the fact that viruses are parasites, they cannot grow or reproduce on their own and need to replicate in human cells. Therefore, cellular immunity is crucial for virus prevention and control. We conducted the world's first Phase I clinical trial on March 16th and published the Phase I clinical trial data in The Lancet on May 22nd. All 108 vaccinated individuals produced antibodies. The editor in chief of The Lancet commented that "the vaccine is safe, well tolerated, and is the world's first clinical data. A single dose can quickly trigger immunity, which is an important milestone." In this process, we have released the detection methods and indicators to the world, which has helped scientific research colleagues in other countries avoid some detours and accelerated vaccine research. On July 20th, we released Phase II clinical data to the world for the first time. The Phase I and Phase II clinical trials have demonstrated the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine, and in June our vaccine began to be administered in specific populations. The Phase III clinical trials of

are currently being effectively promoted. Due to the effective control of the domestic epidemic, we need to cross the country to promote Phase III clinical trials and conduct larger scale evaluations of vaccine efficacy and safety. How long will it take for the Phase III clinical trial to be successfully launched on a large scale? ”[SEP] Chen Wei: Generally speaking, the development of a vaccine requires three phases of clinical trials, and only after the trial results meet the relevant requirements can large-scale production begin. However, our recombinant COVID-19 vaccine has been preparing for mass production since Phase I clinical trial. From the current perspective, the goal of producing 300 million yuan per year is achievable, and we are working hard to expand our production capacity. After the results of the Phase III trial are released, our production capacity will also keep up and be prepared to provide large-scale vaccination to the public at any time, striving for seamless integration.

"Which groups of people do you think are suitable for priority vaccination? ”[SEP] Chen Wei: First of all, there are groups who have direct contact with or have the possibility of close contact with COVID-19, such as front-line medical staff, virus related researchers, customs front-line staff, etc. who are closely related to epidemic prevention. In addition, the population with underlying diseases is also a key focus of our attention. There are also some people who are willing to get vaccinated themselves.

Regarding the vaccination population and timing, we are only providing suggestions and opinions, which will be coordinated and decided by relevant departments. Our main responsibility is to prepare high-quality vaccines so that the country can use them in a timely manner whenever needed.

"How long can the recombinant COVID-19 vaccine provide effective protection? ”[SEP] Chen Wei: It is only more than half a year since COVID-19 was isolated. How long is the validity period of the vaccine? There is not much data in the world. It must be within one year. Our vaccine entered Phase I clinical trials as early as March globally, and we only have data from within six months so far. From the current perspective, the injection in March is still effective. How long can its protective effect last? We are still advancing relevant research and can only speculate based on similar vaccines in the past, such as the Ebola vaccine. After six months of the first dose, its immune response will decrease, and after about six months, a second dose will be administered to enhance it, which can be effective for two years. This is data that can be used as a reference.

"If COVID-19 mutates, will the vaccine fail? ”[SEP] Chen Wei: We are a genetically engineered vaccine, which is to find the most useful gene and make it into a vaccine. From the current data analysis, the probability of the selected gene undergoing changes is very low. Up to now, our recombinant COVID-19 vaccine can completely cover COVID-19 that has mutated. In addition, as we are genetically engineered vaccines, once a mutation occurs that affects the protective effect, we can use the current vaccine as the basic immunity and quickly create a more targeted vaccine to enhance it, just like patching software upgrades. This is also why so many countries in the world are developing genetically engineered vaccines - it is a new generation of technology and a sunrise technology that we need to vigorously develop in the future.

"What do you think is the global position of our country's COVID-19 vaccine research and development process? ”[SEP] Chen Wei: There is no doubt that our country is in the first array of COVID-19 vaccine research and development in the world. Currently, we account for over half of the vaccines announced by the World Health Organization that have entered phase III clinical trials. This data is already very indicative of the problem.

The above is my introduction to the fact that the recombinant COVID-19 vaccine can effectively cover virus mutation events. It can be seen that our country has done a very good job in epidemic prevention and control, vaccine research and development, and is in the forefront of the world. To learn more hot news, please follow!