New Coronary Pneumonia｜35% of Hong Kong people can get 9 vaccine candidates under COVAX next year

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Author: Chen Qianting

2020-09-06 19:33

Last update date: 2020-09-06 19:33

The new type of coronavirus pneumonia is raging around the world, and the epidemic situation in many places has not been controlled. Vaccines are regarded as a good way to deal with the epidemic.

The Hong Kong government earlier announced its participation in the COVAX Facility. This plan led by the International Vaccine Organization and the World Health Organization guarantees that all places participating in the plan will be allocated vaccines after vaccine development. It is expected to be available before the end of 2021. Supply vaccines to various places.

Government anti-epidemic expert Xu Shuchang revealed today (6th) that the Department of Health ordered COVAX last month enough to supply about 35% of the population of Hong Kong with vaccines, and the remaining vaccine supply needs to be purchased from individual pharmaceutical factories.

There are currently 9 candidate vaccines under the COVAX mechanism. Some vaccines have entered the third phase of clinical trials. The vaccines being developed by the University of Hong Kong are also included in the mechanism and are in the preclinical research phase.

The "COVAX" mechanism is led by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (Gavi), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) and the World Health Organization.

More than 170 countries or economies have participated in the plan. The Hong Kong government announced on September 4 that it had submitted a letter of intent to participate in the COVAX mechanism and cited COVAX’s goal of sending 2 billion doses of effective COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2021. At least 20% of the local population will be covered by the place where it participates.

▼Citizens and officials' participation in the National Testing Program ▼

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The Hong Kong government needs to pay a 15% deposit before mid-September to participate in the new crown vaccine safety net, but the amount involved is not disclosed

Xu Shuchang, a government anti-epidemic expert and chairman of the Scientific Committee on New Discoveries and Animal Infectious Diseases under the Center for Health Protection, revealed in an interview that he learned that the Department of Health had ordered COVAX at the end of August to supply a new crown vaccine for about 35% of the Hong Kong population. Unknown vaccine type and manufacturer.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor once said that Hong Kong is an affluent area and the price paid for participation in the mechanism will be more expensive than that of developing countries.

Zhang Zhujun, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Center for Health Protection of the Department of Health, was asked about the deposit involved in ordering the vaccine and the manufacturer who is negotiating to purchase the vaccine. He only said that he had no supplementary information.

According to a document submitted by the government to the House Committee of the Legislative Council at the end of August, since the price of each vaccine has not yet been determined, the overall cost of participating in COVAX is not yet known. However, the Hong Kong government needs to provide a 15% deposit by mid-September , As part of a binding commitment.

As for the amount of the deposit, the document did not disclose.

Professor Chen Zhiwei (third from left), professor of the Department of Microbiology of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong and Director of the Institute of AIDS, said earlier that he and his research team have developed two vaccines that help prevent the new coronavirus, which will be used in human trials.

(Photo of Hong Kong University School of Medicine)

The vaccine developed by the University of Hong Kong is included in the COVAX vaccine candidate

At present, 9 vaccines under development are listed as candidate vaccines under the COVAX mechanism. The vaccine developed by the University of Hong Kong is also among them. Chen Zhiwei, professor of the Department of Microbiology and Director of the Institute of AIDS at the University of Hong Kong School of Medicine, and his research team stated in early August that the Two vaccines that help prevent the new coronavirus have been released and entered the mass production stage of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) for subsequent application in human trials.

Other research and development projects come from Europe, the United States, Mainland China, Australia and other places. Among them, two vaccines have entered the third phase of clinical trials. They are the drug company Moderna and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca in cooperation with the University of Oxford.

The picture shows the new crown vaccine developed by Sinopharm Group China Biotechnology on September 5.

The vaccine has now entered the third phase of human testing, but it is not in the COVAX plan.

(Getty)

The remaining 65% of Hong Kong people’s vaccines are directly negotiated by the Hong Kong government or waiting for central support

If a vaccine is successfully developed and delivered to Hong Kong, Xu Shuchang expects that the elderly, chronically ill patients and front-line workers such as medical staff will be given priority for vaccination. It is expected that each person will need two injections to have sustained antibodies.

The government's goal is that all citizens can be vaccinated. Xu revealed that for the remaining unprotected 65% of the population, the Department of Health will order other new crown vaccines from manufacturers.

It is still unknown who the supplier belongs to. The Hong Kong government said that the current clinical data is limited, and the specific views on the type or brand of vaccines still need to be discussed.

According to the World Health Organization, there is still no vaccine against the new coronavirus that has been approved by regulatory agencies for human use.

So far, 29 new crown vaccine candidates are undergoing clinical trials in different stages around the world. Chinese official media have reported that 4 new crown vaccines developed by mainland pharmaceutical companies have entered the third phase of clinical trials in the Middle East, South America, South Asia and other regions. test.

The Hong Kong government stated that it has sent a letter to the Central People's Government to make a request, hoping to support Hong Kong's needs when vaccines are available in the Mainland.

New crown pneumonia | Xu Shuchang said that the Hong Kong government has placed an order to purchase vaccines to supply 35% of Hong Kong's population at the end of August

New crown pneumonia | The government announced that it will participate in the COVAX mechanism to obtain vaccines and then purchase vaccines from pharmaceutical companies

New crown pneumonia | Fuyang IT man has low immunity to the virus Yuan Guoyong: Two shots are required for vaccination

New Coronary Pneumonia | Hong Kong University School of Medicine successfully developed two preventive vaccines to be used in human trials

New Coronary Pneumonia | PolyU, Macau University of Science and Technology and other vaccines will undergo clinical trials

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