Spain acknowledges the “worrying” nature of the Covid-19 rebound in China after the revocation of the “Covid zero” policy. The abrogation of the vast majority of health restrictions, which reopens the doors to international travel without specific bans, has led the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, to get ahead of the EU and announce control measures at airports. Travelers from China will not be able to enter our country unless they present a negative test or and complete vaccination certificate.
In this sense, Darias has qualified that the government He will evaluate “the revision of existing protocols” and will discuss with Brussels the “possible measures that may or may not be implemented depending on the epidemiological situation”. Because the truth is that, although the figure of the ‘full vaccination certificate’ seems to recall the ‘Covid passport‘ which was in effect until spring of this year. This document gave nine months of validity to those who had received the double pattern of Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines, or the single dose of Janssenbefore requesting reinforcement.
Health has provided few details on the certification of Chinese vaccinations, but has specified that it will only accept those approved by World Health Organization (WHO). This reduces them to three: sinopharmwith a two-dose regimen; Sinovacalso double model; yes CanSinosingle model. The first two use an older than procedure Messenger RNA technology employing the most successful western vaccines. In their case, they inoculate a weakened version of SARS-CoV-2 build an immune defense. As for CanSino, it encodes the genetic material of the coronavirus in a common cold virus. The The European Medicines Agency (EMA) does not authorize them.
[La explosión de casos de Covid en China amenaza Europa: “No conocemos qué variantes circulan”]
At a time when the development of vaccines against Covid was considered a strategic geopolitical priority, tests have reported enormous efficacy of Chinese formulas, capable of rivaling the West. Beijing and Moscow saw an opportunity to leave the US and EU behind, starting their vaccination first and mass-producing them for supply to the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. This made it easier, indeed, for the Infantas Elena and Cristina de Borbón take advantage of a visit to Juan Carlos I in Abu Dhabi for get vaccinated with Sinopharm before it was their turn in Spain.
However, contact with the epidemiological situation in the field has gradually revealed that its real effectiveness is lower than announced. This summer, admitted the director of the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Gao Fu the effectiveness of his country’s Covid-19 vaccines was not high and that they were evaluating heterologous booster doses, i.e. mixing formulas. Even if Fu withdrew, against the shortages of these vaccines omicron, the dominant variant globally, and its more infectious subvariants are becoming apparent before the outbreak of infections.
So, a study of Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and Fiocruz determined last October what Sinopharm offered protection “almost nil” against symptomatic Covid-19 disease by omicron, and between 40 and 50% protection against serious disease. This is not exclusive to Chinese vaccines: even in the West, the third – and most recently, fourth – dose of vaccine They have been fundamental in containing the mortality of the last waves. But in China they gave a few booster doses despite the time since the original inoculation.
Compulsory Covid tests for travelers from China at Malpensa Airport, Milan, Italy.
WHO addressed this issue just before Christmas through its Immunization Department Director, Katherine O’Brien. “Ha It has become clear that the unactivated Covid-19 vaccine, as is the case in China, requires a third dose for maximum benefit“, he said. “We are not talking about a booster dose, but about a third dose necessary for the vaccine to be effectiveand in the majority of the Chinese population, only two were administered.” However, the Organization continues to officially recognize the two-dose regimen of Sinovac/Sinopharm and the single dose of CanSino as the “complete regimen”, adding to the confusion.
“A rhetorical measure”
“Requiring travelers from China to have a negative covid-19 test or full vaccination schedule seems reasonable, but it will probably not reach the expected full effect“, says Óscar Zurriaga, president of the Spanish Society of Epidemiology and researcher in the Department of Preventive Medicine, Public Health, Food Sciences, Toxicology and Forensic Medicine of the University of Valencia. In statements to Science Media Centeradvocates requesting a PCR performed at least 48 hours in advance, or an “internationally recognised” vaccination certificate stating the type of vaccine, doses and dates.
Furthermore, the check should be carried out on the basis of the passenger’s “initial origin” and not on that of his flight, because he may have made a stopover. “We have the precedent of closure of flights with South Africa in November-December 2021 stop the entry of the omicron variant”, he recalls, a useless measure in the face of its diffusion. Finally, an action protocol will also be necessary for people who present symptoms upon entry into the country. virus sequencing that could be isolated in these people,” he warns, to detect potential risk variants as early as possible.
“It seems to me one of those rhetorical measures that have been used so much during the pandemic. For ineffective and useless“, evaluates Salvador Peiró, epidemiologist and researcher in the Research Area of Health Services and Pharmacoepidemiology of the Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Community (FISABIO). According to Peiró, most Chinese travelers would have no difficulty in get a ‘Covid passport’: in terms of percentage of population vaccinated, would even surpass Spain. Their problem is that, unlike here, it is the elderly who have been vaccinated the least.
“Spain has a population heavily vaccinatedover 90%, e heavily infected: 75% with previous infection in the seroprevalence survey of the Valencian Community at the beginning of October. The percentage of people with hybrid immunity is very high“, evaluates Peiró. “It is what keeps us in the current situation of sufficient transmission but not very serious case. That won’t change because some introductions from China or any other country exist or cease to exist.”
Although WHO has pointed out the low rate of booster doses in China, the researcher points this out just over half of the second booster doses of the vaccine were received to persons over the age of 65. “In short, it would be better if we cared a little more about increasing quarters to the elderly and vulnerable and to those people symptomatic of respiratory symptoms – be they covid, flu or otherwise – wear a mask and reduce your interaction with other people, especially the elderly and vulnerable”.
