The Spread of 'Summer Cold' in China... Fourfold Increase Compared to Last Year

'Summer cold' is spreading in China. Despite it not being the usual epidemic season, the number of patients has increased nearly fourfold compared to last year, prompting local media to mention the need for a combined vaccine.

On the 18th, China’s Caijing Newspaper cited a recent announcement from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, reporting that as of June, the number of influenza patients reached 314,709, nearly four times higher than the previous year. Caijing Newspaper stated, "Experts say influenza mainly spreads in autumn, winter, and spring, and summer is not the flu season," adding, "The sharp increase in patients this summer may indicate that the seasonal pattern of the flu has been disrupted."

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Quoting experts, it emphasized that COVID-19 could combine and spread with influenza, adenovirus, parainfluenza, rhinovirus, and others, making the development of a combined vaccine urgent.

Currently, global pharmaceutical giants such as Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna, and Novavax have invested in developing combined COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, but have yet to achieve success. On the 16th, phase 3 clinical trial results of the COVID-19 combined mRNA vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech showed it could prevent influenza type A but not type B.

Earlier in May, Novavax and Sanofi announced an agreement to develop a new combined vaccine using Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine and Sanofi’s influenza vaccine, with phase 3 clinical trials expected to begin by the end of this year.

Among Chinese companies, no major pharmaceutical company has publicly disclosed investment in combined COVID-19 vaccine research and development (R&D). A scientist told the media, "Because it is not profitable, research and development of new COVID vaccines is almost stagnant," adding, "They are waiting until foreign R&D succeeds."

The aforementioned experts believe it may take some time before a new combined COVID-19 and influenza vaccine is available. This is because actual demand must be considered, and the ongoing mutation problem of coronavirus variants must be overcome. One expert told Caijing Newspaper, "The speed of new vaccine development cannot keep up with mutations," adding, "Currently, there are several vaccines effective against the initial Omicron variant on the market, but they are ineffective against later mutated Omicron variants. The new combined vaccine must also address the issue of potential reduced immune response."

At the Two Sessions (Lianghui: the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference) held in March, Zhu Tao, Chief Scientific Officer of CanSino Biologics and a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, argued that joint vaccine development is urgent. He proposed establishing a work mechanism led by the Disease Control Headquarters and organized by third-party institutions, and forming a special task force involving departments such as disease control, drug administration, CDE, and the National Institute of Health.