How effective are Chinese vaccines against omicron? Do you have the stats? Very few Chinese have antibodies due to very low number of cases.
You can just get boosted to increase antibody count. Antibody count only really matters if you want to prevent infection. Both mRNA and inactivated have waning antibody count over time, and both have reduced antibody efficacy against new variants. However, both mRNA and inactivated have strong T-cell memory response (long-term memory response), which helps prevent hospitalization and death.
So boosting antibody count is important for elderly, immunocompromised, or comorbid who really want to prevent infection. Personally, I think you don't necessarily need a booster per se if you are young and healthy, and have fully vaccinated (mRNA or inactivated) because your T-cell memory response will prevent severe disease and death.
China should be able to open, if they can get their local mRNA vaccines. How good are local Chinese vaccines in preparing the immune system for producing T-cells?
I haven't seen the data for Omnicron, but for the Delta Variant, the local Inactivated Chinese vaccines produce strong T-cell memory response, which is why protection against hospitalization and death is still high (+80%) despite it's waning antibody-specific response against infection (sharply reduced, as with mRNA vaccines)
I don't think they need mRNA vaccines per se. I suspect once the virus mutates to a less severe strain, china can open up. It's not like mRNA vaccines are a panacea for COVID. Like how H1N1 turned into the common flu as did the Spanish flu. Usually issues a couple years. I suspect china is biding their time, waiting for other countries to see the long term effects and severity of omicron before determining that the severity has run its course. Afterward do gradual opening. Usually better to open in the summer then fall or winter.
I think China will time the ending of 'zero COVID' strategy with a) arrival of local anti-viral pills, and b) arrival of local mRNA boosters. I agree, mRNA will not end the pandemic (actually, the virus will become endemic, impossible to eradicate), but it's more like a convenient propaganda tool to declare victory of Chinese ingenuity/scientist and convenient excuse to tell the population to return to normalcy. It's as much "psychological" to convince the population to switch to normalcy due to arrive of new medicines (anti-viral pills) and 2nd-gen mRNA boosters.
