Zhang Wenhong: Vaccines still effective in fending off Delta strain

Assessments on neutralizing effect showed the existing vaccines are still effective enough to fend off the Covid-19 viruses, said Zhang Wenhong, director of the Infectious Diseases Department at Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University.

Zhang made the remark at an interview with Science and Technology Daily on July 29, amid the heated debate over the vaccines’ effectiveness.

The controversy was evoked by the growing presence of Delta strain, as well as by the fact that some vaccinated persons were also infected in the current Covid-19 outbreaks in east China's Nanjing and in the May outbreaks in south China’s Guangzhou.

“If the jabs had not been given to the public, the number of the infected would have been larger,” explained Zhang on a Weibo post on the same day, adding that the ultimate effectiveness of vaccines should be proved by the valid data from China and around the world.

According to a weekly report by Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in June, the clinical research showed that Chinese vaccines still have the protective effect against Delta strain.

Online sources; Trans-editing by Wang Shixue