China opts for homegrown mRNA Covid vaccine as booster shots to adults

China said its recently-approved first homegrown mRNA Covid vaccine was one of its two preferred boosters, potentially encouraging more people to get their follow-up shots amid a renewed government campaign to shore up immunity.

The messenger RNA vaccine developed by CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd., which targets the omicron variant — along with another new shot created by Beijing-based drugmaker Sinocelltech Group Ltd. targeting four variants, including omicron — should be the preferred booster immunizations for adults, according to a statement issued by the National Health Commission late Monday.

The decision to roll out and heavily promote the vaccines came less than a month after they were granted emergency use authorization by the government. The CPSC shot’s clearance cleared the way for the powerful mRNA technology’s use in China, which depended on inactivated vaccines developed by local state-owned drugmaker Sinopharm and the private firm Sinovac Biotech Ltd. during initial immunizations.

The developers have claimed the two new shots are more potent than their inactivated predecessors and could in some cases confer protection comparable to potent western mRNA vaccines from Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc. But they have only been made available months after China abruptly pivoted from the tight restrictions imposed by its Covid Zero policy, leading to a major wave of cases across the country.

More than 80% of the population are estimated to have been infected, and hundreds of thousands projected by outside experts to have died due in part to inadequate vaccination.

In addition to approving new vaccines, authorities have accelerated their booster campaign, recommending a fresh immunization as soon as three months after a previous dose or Covid infection — compared to the six month interval mandated previously.