CBN丨China rolls out second booster shot to at-risk people

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Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.

大家好，我是主持人李莹亮。

重点提要 

Second booster shot are now available for elderly and those with preexisting conditions;

China will stop releasing the figure of asymptomatic Covid cases.

中国经济要闻

People at high risk of contracting COVID-19 in China can now get a second booster shot, according to a new notice on Wednesday.

It can be administered to those aged 60 and above who have received the first booster shot, and who have serious underlying conditions and low immunity, said the notice, which was released by the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council.

All vaccines with conditional approval for market use or emergency use can be used for the second booster and people are advised to get a different variety of vaccine for the second booster, which should be administered at least 6 months after the first booster.

As three out of the nine combinations suggested by the health authorities are produced by CanSino Biologics, including its recombinant protein shot and the world’s first inhaled vaccine, stocks in the Chinese drugmaker soared in both A-shares and H-shares today.

Meanwhile, the National Health Commission said Wednesday that China will no longer release the figure of asymptomatic cases, as many carriers would no longer take the voluntary nucleic acid testing, making it impossible to monitor the actual data.

Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan on Tuesday urged to secure access to medical services and medications as the most pressing tasks at the moment during a visit to hospitals, pharmacies and primary health centers in Beijing, as new infections are rising exponentially in the capital, though the majority are asymptomatic or mild cases. 

Sun said the production of drugs and testing kits has been accelerated to meet the demand from residents, adding that the 303 fever clinics in the city should optimize procedures to expand capacity and triage protocols, while services offered by community and online hospitals should be improved.

She said the national priority has now been shifted from preventing infection to treatment. The goal at present is to protect health, prevent severe cases and guarantee the smooth transition of policy changes.

第四针来了！

12月14日，国务院联防联控机制印发《新冠病毒疫苗第二剂次加强免疫接种实施方案》，提出现阶段，可在第一剂次加强免疫接种基础上，在感染高风险人群、60岁以上老年人群、具有较严重基础性疾病人群和免疫力低下人群中开展第二剂次加强免疫接种。

在疫苗选择上，根据疫苗研发工作进展，所有批准附条件上市或紧急使用的疫苗均可用于第二剂次加强免疫。优先考虑序贯加强免疫接种，或采用含奥密克戎毒株或对奥密克戎毒株具有良好交叉免疫的疫苗进行第二剂次加强免疫接种，有关组合如下：3剂灭活疫苗+1剂康希诺肌注式重组新冠病毒疫苗（5型腺病毒载体）；3剂灭活疫苗+1剂智飞龙科马重组新冠病毒疫苗（CHO细胞）；3剂灭活疫苗+1剂康希诺吸入用重组新冠病毒疫苗（5型腺病毒载体）等9种组合。

值得一提的是，9种组合中有3种组合涉及康希诺旗下疫苗。康希诺A股H股股价今天均直线飙升。其中，康希诺A股收盘大涨8.5%，总市值近340亿元，港股康希诺生物也涨7.4%。

此外，国家卫健委公布，当前，新冠肺炎核酸检测实行愿检尽检的策略，许多无症状感染者不再参加核酸检测，无法准确掌握无症状感染者的实际数量，从今天（2022年12月14日）起不再公布无症状感染者数据。

国务院副总理孙春兰13日到北京调研指导疫情防控工作，强调落实党中央、国务院决策部署，实施好二十条和新十条，加强统筹、转变观念，把工作重心从防控感染转到医疗救治。

孙春兰表示，工作目标是保健康、防重症，确保防控措施调整转段平稳有序，高效统筹疫情防控和经济社会发展。当前北京新增感染者处于快速增长期，但绝大多数为无症状感染者和轻型病例，目前医院有50名重症危重症患者，多数有基础性疾病。

她强调，党中央、国务院对北京疫情防控高度重视，当务之急是支持北京保障好群众的就医用药。目前北京市有303家发热门诊，要优化流程，同时扩容医疗资源，加快在方舱医院设置发热门诊，所有发热门诊都增加诊室和医务力量，分流大医院患者就诊压力，减少患者等候时间。要强化分级诊疗，发挥社区医疗卫生机构、互联网医院作用。

她还表示，北京正在下大力气加快解决群众就医用药问题，目前药品和检测试剂正在加紧生产、供应，总体可满足需求，有关部门已成立专班每日调度。

China’s economy will further recover next year, with the gross domestic product expected to increase 5.1 percent compared with 2022, given the low base number for the GDP growth this year, which will still be affected by unfavorable factors arising from domestic epidemic waves, according to a report jointly released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Social Sciences Academic Press (China) on Tuesday. China should set the target GDP growth at more than 5 percent next year and try its best to achieve even higher growth in practice, according to the report, which is also known as the Blue Book.

社科院建议明年GDP增速定在5％以上：12月13日，中国社会科学院发布2023年《经济蓝皮书》。报告表示，我国经济长期发展向好的基本面没有改变，超大规模的市场优势依然突出，产业链供应链体系完整，宏观经济政策也有空间，加上基数相对较低，明年实现5%以上的经济增长是十分必要也是有条件的。社科院数量经济与技术经济研究所所长李雪松表示，预计2023年中国经济增长5.1%左右，呈明显复苏态势，经济运行整体好转。建议2023年GDP增速设定在5%以上，在实际执行过程中可力争实现更高增速。

区域观察

Beijing resumed group tours in and out of the city on Tuesday, as well as flight and hotel businesses of travel agencies. Tour guides must be vaccinated, have their health code checked before they depart and should wear masks, while tourists are suggested to wear masks at all times while riding in cars and other means of transportation, the notice said. Within one hour after the announcement, searches for "Beijing travel" surged 31 percent compared with the same time the previous day, according to Tongcheng Travel. 

北京恢复跨省团队游及“机票+酒店”业务：北京市文化和旅游局13日发布通知，即日起，恢复旅行社及在线旅游企业经营在京团队旅游、进出京跨省团队旅游及“机票+酒店”业务。旅行社在旅游团队行程开始前需对游客、导游、司机等参团人员进行体温检测，体温异常的人员不允许参加行程。导游应接种疫苗，要在导游上岗前进行健康码核验，要求导游科学佩戴口罩。游客乘坐汽车等交通工具应全程佩戴口罩。同程旅行数据显示，消息发布一小时内北京旅游搜索量较前日同一时段上涨31%。

新使命，大未来

Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing (HKEX) will introduce two new HK dollar-renminbi dual counter mechanisms to the local securities market early next year to support the listing, trading and settlement of RMB counters in Hong Kong. The mechanisms include an HK dollar-RMB dual counter model, which will help investors interchange securities from the same issuer and listed on HK dollar and RMB counters. The initiatives will go into operation in the first half of 2023.

港交所拟推“港币-人民币双柜台模式”：12月13日，港交所宣布旗下证券市场即将推出“港币-人民币双柜台模式”及双柜台庄家机制，进一步支持人民币柜台在香港上市、交易及结算。待监管机构批准及市场准备就绪后，各项新措施的登记程序预计可于2023年上半年开始推行。

产业及公司新闻

China invested over 1 trillion yuan in water conservancy development this year, up 33 percent from last year and the largest since 1949, with 10 provincial regions saw their water conservancy investment surpassing 50 billion yuan, the Ministry of Water Resources said Wednesday.

我国完成水利建设投资首超万亿：14日水利部消息，今年1月至11月，我国完成水利建设投资10085亿元。全国完成水利建设投资首次迈上1万亿元台阶，是新中国成立以来水利建设完成投资最多的一年，较去年全年增长33%。截至11月底，全国新开工水利项目2.5万个，新增投资规模1.18万亿元，较去年全年多开工3767项、多增加投资规模6511亿元。

PowerChina International, the world’s largest electrical engineering contractor and a unit of state-owned PowerChina, will design and build Laos’ first wind power project for US$717 million. PowerChina International Group will carry out a 600-megawatt wind power project in two provinces in the southeastern Asian country, PowerChina announced yesterday.

中国电建签50亿老挝风电项目：中国电建13日公告，公司下属子公司中国电建集团国际工程有限公司和中国电建（老挝）有限公司与孟松风电有限公司签订了老挝孟松600兆瓦风电项目合同，合同金额约为7.17亿美元（约合50.83亿元人民币）。

Shares in Jiangsu Recbio Technology skyrocketed over 13 percent today after the Chinese vaccine maker said that its Covid-19 vaccine, which is still undergoing clinical trials, has shown better results in conferring immunity against the virus than US pharma giant Pfizer’s mRNA jab. Phase II clinical trials in the Philippines have shown that Recbio’s recombinant protein vaccine ReCOV offers better protection against the Omicron variants for people who have already received two doses of inactivated vaccines than Pfizer’s Comirnaty, the company said today.

瑞科生物称旗下新冠疫苗优于辉瑞mRNA：14日，瑞科生物发布公告称，本公司重组双组分新冠肺炎疫苗ReCOV的菲律宾II期序贯加强临床试验取得积极结果。该临床研究旨在已完成灭活疫苗基础免疫的人群中，比较ReCOV与mRNA疫苗加强免疫的免疫原性和安全性。研究结果显示，ReCOV序贯加强诱导的针对奥密克戎变异株BA.5和BA.2、原型株的真病毒中和抗体水平均显著优于mRNA疫苗组（差异有统计学意义）。目前，本公司正在向中国监管部门滚动提交产品上市申请。今天瑞克生物港股股价大涨13.59%。

Zeekr Intelligent Technology, the electric vehicle subsidiary of Chinese car giant Geely Holding Group, has applied to go public in the US. Zeekr filed a draft registration statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a possible initial public offering on Dec. 7, Geely said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange yesterday. The size of the new share sale and the pricing have not yet been announced.