Gao Fu: The existing stage of mass vaccination in China has not arrived

Report by  : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Image : Web Screenshot 

According to China News Network, on 12 September 2020, the first Greater Bay Area Vaccine Summit with the theme of "Vaccine Innovation and Public Health" was held in Shenzhen. In an exclusive interview with mainland Chinese media after the meeting, Gao Fu, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Director of the China CDC, elaborated on layered implementation of vacciation, the current SARS-CoV-2 vaccine research and development and the successful experience of China's epidemic prevention and control.

News (1)

 The SARS-CoV-2 vaccine has not yet reached the stage of mass vaccination

At present, many countries in the world are intensively developing the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, and several domestic vaccines have also made very positive progress. However, Gao Fu said in Shenzhen on 12 September 2020 that under the current situation that the domestic epidemic is effectively controlled, the existing  stage of mass vaccination for ordinary people has not arrived.

"This is a question of balance between risks and benefits." Gao Fu said that if a serious situation like the Wuhan epidemic occurs again, the relevant areas should carry out large-scale vaccination of the people, and now the domestic epidemic is well controlled. There is no need for large-scale vaccination at this stage.

"Vaccinations, I recommend stratified." Gao Fu gave an example. For example, people who need to work in overseas areas with high epidemic risk, and special populations such as medical and epidemic prevention workers related to the epidemic should be the first wave of recommendations for vaccination; In addition, people who are engaged in catering, security, cleaning, etc. to ensure the basic operation of the society; followed by government officials and other staff who provide social public services and staff in densely populated areas such as schools. Depending on the situation, they need to be vaccinated in stages.

Gao Fu revealed that he has been vaccinated, "Because as a frontline personnel engaged in disease control research, we of course want to be the first to be a'guinea pig'; and with our understanding of the virus, we can also respond more effectively to some problems."

As for the cost of vaccination, Gao Fu said that from the perspective of disease control staff, he certainly hopes that everyone can be vaccinated for free, "but there is a balance between the government's financial capacity and the actual needs of prevention and control"; In addition, if the government purchases in a unified manner, if a balance is not grasped, it may also cause companies to lose market motivation to further develop more effective and competitive vaccine products. 

News (2)

Prudent and optimistic about the response to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine ADE

Under the pandemic, whether a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine can be developed as soon as possible has become the focus of the outside world. Whether ADE will appear in the development of the vaccines is even more eye-catching.

"Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) mainly refers to an effect that exists in the body, which is caused by pathogen infection. ADE shows that the replication of the virus in low-concentration immune serum will not be inhibited but will be promoted, which means that after some people are vaccinated, their own immune response will cause the disease to worsen.

"Humans have not developed a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine before, and there is no evidence that the new coronavirus can cause ADE. The first in any science, there is one possibility of one kind or another." Gao Fu said 17 years ago After the SARS incident, Hong Kong scientists did a monkey coronavirus test, and it turned out to cause ADE. However, because SARS did not reappear, the development of related vaccines did not continue.

"Even if (ADE) appeared during the monkey test, it would not necessarily appear in humans. What's more, the new coronavirus this time is not the same as the SARS virus. Scientific research is a very rigorous process. Scientists have more time.” Gao Fu, who studied ADE when he was a Ph.D. student, said that vaccines are for healthy people and should be cautiously optimistic. This is a balance between risks and benefits. He is cautiously optimistic about related issues.

News (3)

In response to the epidemic, China has changed from "closed-book examination" to "open-book examination"

"Since the first wave of the new crown epidemic in Wuhan, China has already survived the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic several times." Gao Fu said. When the Wuhan epidemic appeared, he faced sudden emergencies. The epidemic, from treatment and diagnosis to comprehensive prevention and control, is in the exploratory stage. It is a “closed-book examination”. When the local epidemic spreads in Northeast, Beijing, Xinjiang and other places later, China has already had mature and effective comprehensive response measures. The region soon "cleared" one after another, which was an "open-book examination."

"Facts have proved that we have several magic weapons to deal with the epidemic." Gao Fu said that this includes the rapid identification of confirmed patients, the rapid tracing of patient contact history, and the effective elimination of related environments. These points are social measures. There is very important experience drawn from epidemic prevention and control.

In terms of personal prevention and control, masks, distance, and hygiene are called the "three major things" by Gao Fu. The first is that individuals should wear masks during the epidemic, maintain appropriate personal distance, and perform personal hygiene and cleaning in a timely manner. "Doing these three things well is the most effective means for individuals to prevent and control the epidemic."

From the emergence of the epidemic in Wuhan to the local spread of the epidemic in Northeast, Beijing, Xinjiang and other places, Gao Fu described the Wuhan epidemic as a “high peak wave”. With the strong measures of the central government and the joint efforts of the people across the country, this wave of the epidemic was controlled, and many valuable prevention and control experiences were explored, which played a very important role in the timely prevention and control of the epidemic in several places.

“When the new outbreak occurred in Beijing, if we did not detect and take effective measures in time, we were worried about the spread of the epidemic at that time.” Gao Fu emphasized that with the above-mentioned effective response methods, China has effectively responded to the next few issues. The impact of the epidemic, "Of course, in terms of scale, those are much smaller than those in Wuhan, which also proves that our measures are very effective."

Ref : Tang Guijiang, Gao Fu: In response to the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, China has changed from "closed-book examination" to "open-book examination", China News Network, http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2020/09-13/9289837.shtml