PCV
Since 2016, the number of pneumococcal vaccine (PCV) lot release in China has increased year by year. In 2023, a total of 161 batches of PPV23 and PCV13 were issued nationwide (Figure 1).1
(Source: CITIC Securities report, “2023 Vaccine Lot Release Data in China”)
(Source: CITIC Securities report, “2023 Vaccine Lot Release Data in China”)
By the end of the first half of 2024, Weifang (Shandong Province) is the only city in mainland China to pilot a free PCV13 vaccination program for children. Starting from June 1, 2021, Weifang launched an innovative, first-in-China immunization program for PCV13: one dose of domestic-produced PCV13 is given free of charge to children aged 6 months to 2 years, including those without local household registration but who have been included in the city’s Childhood Preventive Vaccination Information System (CPVIS) for more than three months. The program was co-funded by the city and county governments with an annual investment of about 70 million CNY. The market price of the vaccine is 630 CNY/dose. By the procurement agreement between the municipal government and Walvax Biologicals, the vaccine will be purchased at a price of 530 CNY/dose. One dose will be given free of charge to the eligible population. Parents can make an appointment at the vaccination clinic in their district in accordance with the principle of voluntary and signed informed consent. As of early August 2021, Weifang distributed 300,000 copies of publicity posters, educational leaflets, informed consent forms, etc., and completed a total of 29,475 doses of PCV13 vaccination2,3.
The Weifang program is the first local pilot case in mainland China to promote PCV13 vaccination. The study suggested such program should be implemented continuously in the future and multiple financing sources be explored to promote PCV13 vaccination. In those developed regions, governments could explore innovative vaccine program implementation, expand financing sources, improve accessibility of vaccination services, advocate for introducing PCV13 into local immunization programs, and establish monitoring and evaluation systems to assess the effectiveness of implementation2,3.
PPV23
In recent years, a number of cities such as Shanghai, Qingdao and Chengdu start providing free or partially free PPV23 vaccines to the elderly, which has improved the status quo of PPV23 vaccinations to a certain extent. The cities or districts that have included PPV23 in their public health programs from 2013 to 2020 and the status of program implementation are shown in Table 1.
Table1 Cities and districts that included PPV23 in public health programs and program implementation status from 2013 to 2020
| City/District | Time | Coverage of population | Vaccination Plan | Implementation |
| Shanghai | 2013 | Elderly over 60 years of age with household registration | — | About 1.6 million beneficiaries by 2020 |
| Laoshan, Qingdao | 2015 | Elderly over 60 years of age with household registration | — | — |
| Chengdu | 2015 | Elderly over 60 years of age with household registration | — | — |
| Yuhang, Hangzhou | 2015 | Elderly over 60 years of age receiving minimum living allowance | — | 664 out of 1300 elderly in low-income households vaccinated |
| Licang, Qingdao | 2016 | Elderly over 60 years of age with household registration | — | — |
| Shenzhen | 2016 | Elderly over 60 years of age with household registration | — | — |
| Laishan, Yantai | 2016 | Elderly over 60 years of age with household registration | — | — |
| Kunming | 2018 | Elderly over 60 years of age with household registration | Achieving full coverage of the target population in Kunming between 2018 and 2020 | About 270,000 people completed vaccinations in 2018 |
| Suzhou | 2018 | Elderly over 65 years of age with household registration | Vaccination coverage for the target population is planned to exceed 10% in 2018 and 33% in three years | — |
| Beijing | 2018 | Elderly over 65 years of age with household registration | — | As of January 2019, 57,000 people have completed vaccinations |
| Wuxi | 2019 | Elderly over 65 years of age with household registration | — | 132,100 people completed vaccinations by 2020 |
| Taizhou | 2020 | Elderly over 60 years of age with household registration | 60% of the target population scheduled for vaccination, with priority given to those over 70 years of age | As of December 2020, 317,200 people have completed vaccinations |
| Nantong | 2021 | Elderly aged 60-85 with household registration | Expected to benefit 60,600 elderly residents in 2021 | — |
Note: Information from the official websites of the regional health commissions
Content Editor: Xiaotong Yang, Ziqi Liu
Page Editor: Ziqi Liu
References
1. National Institutes for Food and Drug Control. (n.d.). Search results from biological product quality files. https://bio.nifdc.org.cn/pqf/search.do?formAction=pqfGsByJG¶meter1=1
2. Wang, J., Wang, Y., Xu, R., Zhang, T., Jiang, Y., Wang, Y., Wang, Y., Du, Y., Sun, W., Deng, K., Yang, W., Wang, Z., Feng, L., & Wang, C. (2023). 13-Valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines vaccination innovative strategy in Weifang City, China: a case study. Infectious diseases of poverty, 12(1), 110. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40249-023-01165-1
3. Wang, C. P., Lin, Y. T., Du, Y. Z., Zhang, T., Wang, Y. Y., Wang, Y. J., … & Feng, L. Z. (2024). Impact of innovative immunization strategy on PCV13 vaccination coverage among children under 5 years in Weifang city, China: A retrospective study. Vaccine, 42(5), 1136-1144.
