A medical worker inoculates a recipient with a COVID-19 vaccine at a temporary inoculation site in Haidian District in Beijing, capital of China, January 11, 2021. Photo: Xinhua

Multiple cities across China have announced that local residents can receive COVID-19 vaccines targeting the XBB variant, and experts said eligible individuals should get the vaccine in a timely manner to enhance their protection against the virus.

Local centers for disease control and prevention in Chinese cities such as Shanghai, North China's Tianjin Municipality, and Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province have sent notices to advise local residents to take COVID-19 vaccines.

The Shanghai CDC recommended vaccines containing XBB variant antigenic components on Monday. The local CDC also released measures guiding residents how to register for the vaccines.

Currently, the XBB variant of COVID-19 is still the main strain of the local epidemic in China. The XBB variant has strong immune evasion capabilities, and it poses a greater risk to key population segments such as the elderly. This winter and spring are high-risk periods for respiratory diseases, so it is still necessary for the more vulnerable to receive vaccinations, Tianjin's CDC said.

From October 1 to 31, a total of 7,646 local cases of COVID-19 were reported. All the cases were found to be of the Omicron variant, covering 73 evolutionary branches, with the XBB variant the most prevalent, according to the latest report released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) on November 10.

People who have already been infected twice don't need to be vaccinated, as the immunity developed after natural infection is the strongest, Lu Hongzhou, head of the Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen, told the Global Times on Friday.

The number of elderly patients may gradually increase because they are more prone to respiratory infections and are more likely to experience respiratory symptoms. There may be a peak in the number of elderly patients seeking medical treatment in December, according to Lu.

The COVID-19 vaccines produced by five Chinese companies including Walvax Biotechnology Co and CanSino Biologics Inc have been approved for emergency use in China, and the vaccines are effective against the XBB Omicron subvariant, according to media reports.

The messenger RNA-based vaccine that was jointly developed by Fudan University, Walvax and others can protect against Omicron XBB.1.5 and has been approved for emergency use, the developers announced on December 1.

Global Times