As I see it | The world will have to learn to live with Covid-19 in a rational way
- Scientists have said vaccines won’t be a silver bullet, and public health measures will still be needed
- As immunity wanes, tough virus control measures could continue in China, the holdout on ‘Covid zero’
As people get their third jabs, the level of neutralising antibodies they induce will be closely watched. Trials show that boosters can significantly raise that level, but the question is how long the immunity will last.
Inactivated vaccines are the most common in China, and it is still holding back on approving BioNTech’s mRNA jab that is widely used in the West. The reason has not been made public, but trial results are pending for Chinese experimental vaccines using mRNA technology – those made by Walvax Biotechnology and Suzhou Abogen Biosciences are reportedly expected to be available by the end of the year.
Chinese experts have said the country would consider reopening once 85 per cent of the population was fully vaccinated, but with herd immunity now an elusive target as the jabs become less effective, the country’s tough virus control measures could continue.