East China’s Jiangsu province will start to vaccinate COVID-19 vaccine to help elders prevent the XBB subvariants of Omicron.
In August, China's State Council inter-agency task force for COVID-19 response issued a plan for a new round of COVID-19 vaccination for the country's elderly and other key groups.
As the XBB subvariants of Omicron have become predominant in the country, the plan prioritizes the inoculation of vaccines that are effective against the highly immune-evasive XBB subvariants to brace for the upcoming autumn and winter season.
The plan targets key groups, including people aged 60 and above and those aged between 18 and 59 with serious underlying conditions, weaker immunity functions, or a high risk of infection.
“The latest vaccines containing XBB are targeted at the currently prevalent strains, so we recommend targeted populations to receive them. This vaccination is still free of charge. Elderly people aged 60 and above, those aged 18 to 59 with immune deficiencies, underlying diseases, and those who may work in densely populated areas, are recommended to prioritize vaccination,” said Liang Yaqiong, Chief Physician of the Immune Planning Department of Nanjing Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The disease control department reminds that the target population who have completed basic immunization or infected with COVID-19 can be vaccinated with one dose of vaccine containing the antigen of XBB mutant three to six months after the last vaccination or six months after the last infection. If both cases occur, the latest one shall prevail.
“People who are allergic to vaccine ingredients are definitely not eligible for vaccination. People who are in the acute phase of chronic diseases, have fever, have received vaccines in the past with serious adverse reactions, have experienced epilepsy or serious neurological diseases in the past six months are not eligible for vaccination,” said Liang.
