In the context of the global new crown pneumonia epidemic, it is more necessary for the general public to get a flu vaccine this year
This year, the number of influenza vaccines produced and issued in batches in my country has increased significantly compared with previous years, but the number balance between different regions needs to be strengthened.
The influenza vaccination rate in my country is expected to reach 4% this year, which is still insufficient for the protection of the entire population
It takes 2 to 4 weeks after vaccination to produce a protective level of antibodies. In order to ensure that the recipients get immune protection before the flu season, it is recommended that the public should be vaccinated as soon as possible after the local flu vaccine is on the market
November to March of the following year is the period of high influenza incidence.
Recently, influenza vaccination has been carried out in many areas of the country including Beijing, Zhejiang, Gansu and other places.
Under the new crown pneumonia epidemic, should the flu vaccine be given?
Is production capacity sufficient?
How to bridge the "gap" of vaccination?
With these autumn and winter flu vaccine issues that are of great concern to the public, "Liaowang" News Weekly interviewed people in the industry.
Should the general public get the flu vaccine?
On September 29, the Comprehensive Group of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council released the 2020 version of the "National Influenza Prevention and Control Plan" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan").
This is the third consecutive year that my country has issued a national influenza prevention and control plan.
The "Plan" proposed that influenza vaccination is a globally recognized effective means of influenza prevention and control.
It is essentially different from the common cold. Influenza is an acute respiratory infectious disease with more obvious fever and systemic symptoms, which seriously endangers the health of the population.
Influenza viruses are easy to mutate, and outbreaks can occur in schools, nurseries, nursing homes and other places where people gather.
Every year, influenza can cause 3 to 5 million severe cases and 290,000 to 650,000 deaths related to respiratory diseases worldwide.
High-risk groups such as pregnant women, infants, the elderly, and patients with chronic underlying diseases are at higher risk of severe illness and death after flu.
And because influenza virus is prone to mutation, the immunity of vaccination will gradually weaken over time, so influenza vaccine needs to be vaccinated every year.
At present, influenza vaccination has been carried out in many regions across the country.
It is understood that the 60,000 influenza vaccines scheduled in the first round of Gansu have been vaccinated at the end of August; the elderly people over 70 years old with household registration in Zhejiang are undergoing vaccination appointment registration; Beijing began to implement vaccination in stages and batches in late September. ; Shanghai community vaccination clinics have successively started influenza vaccination appointments.
The interviewed experts believe that in the context of the global new crown pneumonia epidemic, it is more necessary for the general public to get influenza vaccine this year.
Hua Shucheng, Dean of Bethune First Hospital of Jilin University, said that influenza vaccination is necessary. Only when the flu is controlled and there are not so many people with fever and respiratory symptoms, can patients with new coronary pneumonia be identified more quickly and accurately, and at the same time alleviated. The pressure of virus nucleic acid detection.
The "Technical Guidelines for Influenza Vaccination in China (2020-2021)" recently issued by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) specially reminds: The global epidemic of the new crown epidemic will continue this year. Influenza vaccination is the most effective way to prevent influenza, which can be significant. Reduce the risk of influenza and serious complications for vaccinators, and reduce the harm caused by influenza-related diseases and the occupation of medical resources.
The relevant person in charge of the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that generally speaking, it takes 2 to 4 weeks after influenza vaccination to produce a protective level of antibodies. In order to ensure that the recipients get immune protection before the high influenza season, it is recommended that the public stay in the local area. Get the flu vaccine as soon as possible after it is on the market.
Can the production capacity meet the demand?
Affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic this year, people's willingness to receive influenza vaccines has generally increased, and vaccine sales have increased substantially.
Can the vaccine supply meet the needs of the people?
From the perspective of the source of vaccines, the World Health Organization (WHO) predicts the influenza situation and releases the strains of influenza vaccines every year, and the company organizes production according to the strains of the year.
Compared with previous years, three of the four major influenza strains in the northern hemisphere announced by the WHO have mutated, and companies need to produce new vaccines based on these mutated strains.
After interviewing a number of vaccine manufacturers, the reporter learned that under the epidemic, the time for companies to receive virus strains and standard products was affected to a certain extent.
In addition, the flu vaccine has a long production cycle and requires high process and technical stability.
Zhang Heping, general manager of Sanofi Pasteur China, an influenza vaccine manufacturer, said that to complete the production of an influenza vaccine, a total of 6 stages and 22 steps are required, of which 70% is spent on quality control, and each batch has There are more than 100 inspection points and more than 400 inspection parameters, which usually requires a production cycle of 6 to 7 months.
Despite these unfavorable conditions, the supply of influenza vaccines in my country this year has increased significantly compared with 2018 and 2019.
According to the website of the State Food and Drug Administration and vaccine batch release information, there will be 9 manufacturers supplying influenza vaccine in the 2020-2021 season.
The industry predicts that my country's planned influenza vaccine production in 2020 is expected to reach 50 million copies.
The relevant person in charge of the State Food and Drug Administration said that measures have been taken to meet the supply of influenza vaccine this year, and the number of vaccine production and batch issuance has increased significantly compared with previous years, but the balance of quantities between different regions needs to be strengthened. Next The number of batches issued will be dynamically adjusted in a timely manner based on the incidence, demand, and contract between disease control and the vaccine manufacturer. On the basis of ensuring product quality and safety, the vaccine manufacturer can ensure that the vaccine manufacturer can fully stock up and make plans and preparations in advance.
Yu Qingming, secretary of the party committee of Sinopharm Group, a leading pharmaceutical company in my country, told reporters that affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic this year, the people's willingness to receive influenza vaccines has generally increased and vaccine sales have increased substantially.
At present, Changchun Biotech, Shanghai Biotech and other companies under Sinopharm Sino Biotech have produced about 7 million doses of influenza vaccine. In order to avoid a shortage of "one seed hard to find" in the market, companies are stepping up workshop renovation and expanding production capacity.
Zhang Heping said that Sanofi Pasteur plans to issue 8.8 million flu vaccines to the Chinese market this year.
Wu Liangyou, deputy director of the National Health Commission’s Disease Control Bureau, said at a press conference that this year the National Health Commission has asked all localities to set up additional vaccination sites, start vaccination appointments earlier, extend the vaccination cycle, and increase the daily service time. Ensure that more convenient services are provided for the masses.
How to bridge the "gap" of vaccination
Interviewed experts said that my country's influenza vaccination rate still has much room for improvement.
Feng Luzhao, executive vice president of the School of Medicine and Public Health of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences-Peking Union Medical College, said that the influenza vaccination rate in my country is 2% to 3% per year. This year the vaccination rate is expected to reach 4%, but this will protect the entire population. It's still not enough.
The reporter was informed that the flu vaccination rate in some countries even exceeded 50%.
Experts suggest that the scope of influenza vaccination should be expanded this autumn and winter, and production-related plans should be made to ensure supply.
From a long-term perspective, my country should also increase efforts to promote the exploration of new technical routes for influenza vaccines and increase the flexibility of the production cycle.
First, make plans for the balance of vaccine deployment between regions and short-term replenishment of production capacity.
Interviewees suggested that relevant national departments can build a perfect influenza vaccine supply-demand dialogue platform, establish a supply-demand linkage mechanism, so that companies can prepare production plans in advance, and "orders in advance" is an effective means to ensure supply.
"The United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, France and other countries have established a pre-order system to order the vaccines needed for the next year's influenza season 7 to 10 months in advance." said the person in charge of a vaccine manufacturer.
Second, improve the domestic influenza vaccination plan for a large scale.
Experts suggest to promote free vaccination for high-risk areas and high-risk populations. Priority vaccination for various key populations specified in the guidelines of the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the same time, vaccination arrangements for multiple locations in China should be made in an orderly manner by time period and region.
Third, promote the exploration of new technical routes for influenza vaccine.
Zhang Heping suggested that the country encourage innovation and accelerate the introduction of advanced foreign flu vaccines.
He said that in addition to the traditional preparation process based on chicken embryo culture, there is also a genetically recombinant influenza vaccine that has been marketed abroad.
The production of this product does not rely on the number of specific pathogen-free eggs, and the production cycle is short, which can not only reduce the time pressure of annual influenza vaccine production, but also make emergency preparations for preventing influenza outbreaks on a global scale, which can be considered.
(Text | "Liaowang" Newsweek reporter Ma Xiaocheng and Xu Hongyi)