What’s new: Beijing and several other Chinese cities have started offering residents China’s first Covid-19 vaccine against four variants of the virus, as the country speeds up its vaccination drive to tackle a growing wave of infections.
The four-valent Covid vaccine, SCTV01E, is a recombinant protein vaccine developed by Beijing-based drugmaker Sinocelltech Group Ltd. It offers “better broad-spectrum protection” against the main variants identified by the World Health Organization — alpha, beta, delta and omicron, a researcher at the company said in a Beijing Daily report.
SCTV01E is being used at multiple vaccination sites in Beijing, the report said. Other cities including Hangzhou, Wenzhou and Wenling, all in East China’s Zhejiang province, have also started administering the vaccine, local media reported.
The background: The rollout of the new vaccine comes as China braces for the second surge in infections since scrapping its “zero-Covid” policy in December. The current wave of the omicron subvariant XBB could hit around 65 million cases per week by the end of June.
The Sinocelltech vaccine was approved for emergency use in China in March. Data from phase 3 clinical trials showed that it was effective as a booster against omicron and several of its subvariants, including XBB, in adults who had been fully vaccinated or had one booster shot, according to the company. The trial results also showed no serious adverse events related to vaccination with SCTV01E, the company said.
Contact reporter Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com) and editor Jonathan Breen (jonathanbreen@caixin.com)
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