A Review of Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine Development in China: Focusing on Safety and Efficacy in Special Populations

Lidan Hu; Jingmiao Sun; Yan Wang; Danny Tan; Zhongkai Cao; Langping Gao; Yuelin Guan; Xiuwei Jia; Jianhua Mao

doi:10.3390/vaccines11061045

A Review of Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine Development in China: Focusing on Safety and Efficacy in Special Populations

Vaccines (Basel). 2023 May 31;11(6):1045. doi: 10.3390/vaccines11061045.

Authors

Lidan Hu¹, Jingmiao Sun¹, Yan Wang¹, Danny Tan¹, Zhongkai Cao¹, Langping Gao¹, Yuelin Guan¹, Xiuwei Jia¹, Jianhua Mao¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Nephrology, The Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou 310030, China.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been widespread globally, and vaccination is critical for preventing further spread or resurgence of the outbreak. Inactivated vaccines made from whole inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus particles generated in Vero cells are currently the most widely used COVID-19 vaccines, with China being the largest producer of inactivated vaccines. As a result, the focus of this review is on inactivated vaccines, with a multidimensional analysis of the development process, platforms, safety, and efficacy in special populations. Overall, inactivated vaccines are a safe option, and we hope that the review will serve as a foundation for further development of COVID-19 vaccines, thus strengthening the defense against the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2.

Keywords: COVID-19; development process; inactivated vaccines; safety and efficacy; special populations.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant U20A20351, 81770710), the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province of China (No. LQ22C070004) and the Administration of Tranditional Chinese Mdeicine of Zhejiang Province (No. GZY-ZJ-KJ-23083).