Source title: It is about the overall situation: “Protecting the elderly” is the key to building a strong immune barrier – series reports on why the elderly should get the new crown vaccine (3)
“Extensive immunization of the elderly, including booster vaccination is a key prerequisite for the liberalization of epidemic control in the future.” On May 10, Wang Guiqiang, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Peking University First Hospital, said in an interview with reporters that the elderly are vaccinated. The new crown vaccine is not the matter of the elderly group, it is related to the overall situation of epidemic prevention and control.
Vaccination of the elderly is the “short board” of my country’s immune barrier
At the previous press conference of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council, Zheng Zhongwei, head of the vaccine research and development team of the scientific research team and director of the Science and Technology Development Center of the National Health and Health Commission, admitted that the vaccination of the elderly is the “short board” of my country’s immune barrier. .
“If we want to build a strong immune barrier, this shortcoming must be made up.” Zheng Zhongwei explained the historical reasons for the formation of the “shortcoming”: due to my country’s good epidemic prevention and control, my country’s vaccination strategy is based on high-risk groups and key The population gradually transitions to the order of the elderly over the age of 60. In order to cope with the high risk of the epidemic, foreign countries have advanced the vaccination from the advanced age level by level. Different vaccination strategies make the proportion of the elderly vaccinated in my country relatively low.
According to the famous “barrel theory”, the amount of water in a barrel does not depend on the tallest piece of wood on the barrel wall, but on the shortest piece on the barrel wall. From the perspective of the overall situation of epidemic prevention and control, the vaccination status of the elderly and the herd immunity of the elderly are the important “shortcomings” that determine the entire situation.
“Only by increasing the vaccination rate of the elderly can we truly gain the initiative and time for our country’s epidemic prevention and control. Accelerating the vaccination of the elderly, especially the elderly, will benefit individuals, families, society, and society. The country is doing well.” Zheng Zhongwei said.
Provide maximum convenience for vaccination of elderly groups
“We hope that every elderly person who can receive the new crown vaccine can complete the three-needle vaccination of the new crown vaccine.” Wang Guiqiang said that in terms of effectiveness, vaccination of the elderly can effectively reduce the fatality rate; in terms of importance, this is It is the most critical prerequisite for the liberalization of the whole society.
“Even the elderly who do not have frequent contact with others should be vaccinated.” Wang Guiqiang emphasized that many clustered epidemics are spread within the family, and there is a risk of infection without contact with outsiders. Families cause great pain and burden.
For the vaccination of the elderly against the new crown, the National Health and Health Commission has made several special deployments to guide local governments to strictly standardize vaccination work, innovate service forms, and ensure vaccination safety. Some provinces have also developed ideas and innovated service models in their actual work. For example, the establishment of a “green channel” for the vaccination of the elderly, the adoption of mobile vehicle vaccination, pick-up service and even door-to-door vaccination, etc., provide the greatest convenience for the vaccination of the elderly group.
The third vaccination should be promoted simultaneously
When it comes to the vaccination data of the elderly in my country, many people in the industry can’t help but feel anxious, and Wang Guiqiang is one of them. “Only 20% of the elderly over the age of 80 have received three-injection immunization, and precisely three-injection immunization can very effectively reduce the risk of severe illness over the age of 80.”
If the percentage data is reduced to a specific number of people, the huge gap caused by the “short board” is more similar. “There are more than 30 million elderly people over 80 years old in my country, and about 40% of them have not been vaccinated. Data from Hong Kong shows that the fatality rate of unvaccinated elderly people over 80 years old is 16%. If social prevention and control measures are relaxed, it will be It has brought a large number of infected elderly people, seriously ill elderly people, and elderly people who died of illness. In this way, the number of millions of people is very staggering.” Wang Guiqiang said that the elderly have not been well protected, and the vaccine for the elderly should be promoted as soon as possible and in all aspects. Vaccination work.
The vaccination situation of the elderly in other age groups in my country is also not optimistic. Compared with the United States, Japan and other countries, the vaccination rate of the elderly is as high as 90%, and the vaccination rate of the elderly in my country is slowly “climbing”. According to official data, as of May 5, the number of people over 60 years old who were vaccinated and vaccinated during the whole process accounted for 86.23% and 81.67% of the elderly population, respectively.
“Promoting the vaccination of the elderly with the new crown vaccine is the top priority of the new crown vaccination work.” Wang Guiqiang also said that the effect of the third dose of immunization is very obvious, and it should also be promoted simultaneously.