Why do some people think that China didn’t approve and use any mRNA COVID vaccines?
The usual suspects…
Why Didn’t China Approve Any mRNA COVID Vaccines?
While they didn’t use Pfizer or Moderna mRNA COVID vaccines, an mRNA COVID vaccine was approved in China in 2023.
Before that, they used inactivated whole virus COVID vaccines.
In fact, they had a vaccine available in July 2020, about five months before the first mRNA COVID vaccine (Pfizer) became available in the US.
And they weren’t the only country that made their own COVID vaccine.
There was also Cuba, India, Iran, and Russia.
Countries that developed inactivated virus, viral vector, peptide, protein subunit, and DNA vaccines to protect against COVID.
COVID vaccines that were effective, well, at least most of them were. The EpiVacCorona (Russia) vaccine was found to be ineffective, but their Sputnik V vaccine worked well.
What else?
Self-Amplifying mRNA (saRNA) COVID Vaccines
In addition to the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID vaccines and the mRNA COVID vaccines from China, other countries that have developed mRNA COVID vaccines include India (GEMCOVAC-19) and Japan (Daichirona).
Interestingly, GEMCOVAC-19 and Daichirona, like the new Kostaive vaccine from Arcturus/CSL, uses self-amplifying mRNA (saRNA) technology.
Wait, what does self-amplifying mean?
With a self-amplifying mRNA (saRNA) vaccine, a smaller initial dose of vaccine RNA gets amplified by an enzyme once it is inside a cell, allowing it to produce more viral antigen. The RNA and enzyme are eventually broken down and, like mRNA vaccines, can’t change your DNA.
And some evidence suggests that self-amplifying mRNA (saRNA) vaccines may produce stronger and longer-lasting immune responses than conventional mRNA vaccines, with similar side effects.
I lived in the Philippines during COVID-19, still do. The first vaccine available here was China's Sinovac.I took it because it was the first as did many others including health care workers. It worked well based on death rates and hospital admissions. FYI, I am an equal opportunity patient. My boosters were mRNA vaccines.
Thank you