China: COVID-19 Vaccines – Announcements/Regulatory Actions/Deployment

National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China [to 26 Feb 2022]
http://en.nhc.gov.cn/
News
Feb 26: Daily briefing on novel coronavirus cases in China
On Feb 25, 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps on the Chinese mainland reported 249 new cases of confirmed infections.

China widens choices for COVID-19 booster shots
Updated: 2022-02-21 | CHINA DAILY
China began delivering COVID-19 booster shots over the weekend based on technologies different from those used in initial inoculations in the country, in an effort to reinforce herd immunity against the disease.
The method, known as sequential immunization, targets people over 18 years old who are fully vaccinated with one of the three inactivated vaccines produced by Sinopharm and Sinovac Biotech, according to the National Health Commission. Two shots are required for full vaccination.
Instead of receiving an additional shot developed with the same technology, which has been standard practice in the country since October, people eligible for a booster now have wider choices. They can get a protein subunit COVID-19 vaccine made by Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical or a viral vector vaccine from CanSino Biologics.
Protein subunit vaccines use a subunit of virus antigen to trigger an immune response, and viral vector vaccines use a modified version of a different virus to instruct our cells to fight the virus, according to Chinese researchers.
“Research has shown that boosters of both the same and different technologies are effective at further improving protection against the disease,” Wu Liangyou, deputy director of the commission’s Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control, said at a briefing on Saturday. “The public only needs to select one of them.”…

Second medical team from mainland arrives in Hong Kong in fighting latest COVID-19 outbreak
2022-02-21
HONG KONG – The second team of mainland health experts and workers arrived in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) via the Shenzhen Bay Port on Saturday to work with the HKSAR government in fighting the latest COVID-19 outbreak.
The team is comprised of 114 members, including four critical care medical specialists, four administrative staff members, and 106 sampling workers.
The four critical care specialists will discuss with clinical medical experts in Hong Kong on the treatment of severe and critical COVID-19 cases, and share the treatment experience of COVID-19 patients in the mainland.
Also on Saturday, the construction of two community isolation and treatment facilities built with assistance from the mainland began at Penny’s Bay and Kai Tak Pier in Hong Kong, respectively.
Designed and constructed by China State Construction International Holdings Ltd, the two isolation facilities are expected to provide about 9,500 quarantine units when fully operational…