By Leng Shumei and Zhang Han
Published: Jan 21, 2021 09:13 PM
Editor's Note:
Since China officially kicked off mass vaccination on December 15, 2020, more than 15 million people have been vaccinated as of Wednesday, according to a national health official. Chinese vaccines have also been purchased and used by more than 20 foreign countries. However, along with recognition and praise, doubts and smears over safety and efficacy of China's vaccines have never stopped. Are Chinese vaccines really not as good as foreign ones? Feng Duojia (Feng), president of the China Vaccine Industry Association, received an exclusive interview with the Global Times reporters Leng Shumei and Zhang Han (GT) on Wednesday.
GT: You have said in previous interviews with media that Chinese people used to have a low willingness for inoculation. Do you think this will be a hurdle for China's mass vaccination in the future, or is it an opportunity to change Chinese people's attitude?
Feng: Take the flu vaccine for example, before the COVID-19 epidemic, Chinese people were not as willing to accept flu vaccines as people in Western countries.
But along with the popularization of vaccine knowledge in recent years, Chinese people's attitudes have also changed a lot, and the number of people willing to accept vaccines has gradually increased year by year. At times, supply even could not meet demand.
China's achievements in the epidemic control and prevention have demonstrated that Chinese people unite as one, work as one and have high consciousness about public health. Moreover, along with the popularization of the knowledge about vaccination, the public will certainly become more and more willing to accept vaccines. The smooth progress of the current mass vaccination in China is the best proof.
In fact, China has a good tradition of achieving herd immunity and overcome epidemics through vaccination. For example, through vaccination we have eliminated smallpox and polio, reduced the incidence and infection rate of hepatitis B, and brought measles under control.
Although some people are still hesitant to get COVID-19 vaccine shots, overall, the public have showed an all-time high vaccination willingness and stronger confidence in ending the COVID-19 epidemic.
GT: Amid reports and concerns over adverse effects of Pfizer's mRNA vaccines, do you think it is necessary to adjust inoculation programs? Will the negative reports impact global vaccination progress?
Feng: Any vaccine, after being approved for market, will go through further evaluation which is dubbed as "Phase IV clinical trial" on masses of people who receive it to further study the safety and efficacy. The Pfizer vaccine is the first vaccine in the world that uses the mRNA route; mRNA route has been under development for more than 20 years. Its commercial use means it has finally entered the post-market evaluation phase.
As for the reports on adverse reactions and deaths, whether the adverse reactions exceed normal range and whether deaths are connected to the vaccine itself or its quality require professional analysis by scientists, medical experts and drug regulators.
Based on previous experiences, the difference between vaccines of various routes lies in the production process. The safety and efficacy of vaccines for the same pathogen do not have fundamental differences.
