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In 2021, China's domestically produced coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines received approval from regulatory bodies and were administered worldwide. Due to a low number of infections within China during that period, it became imperative to evaluate the vaccines' real-world effectiveness through international studies. To facilitate this, China CDC launched the COVID-19 Vaccines Evaluation Program (COVEP). This program formed research collaboration agreements with health institutes across five World Health Organization regions, addressing key questions about vaccine performance through ten cooperative agreements. The findings from COVEP projects reinforced confidence, both domestically and globally, in the effectiveness of the vaccines produced in China. Moreover, the outcomes observed internationally were frequently mirrored by later studies conducted within China. COVEP thus pioneered a novel approach for fostering cross-national research collaborations, addressing significant public health issues and exemplifying a framework for international cooperation. This approach is in line with the strategic objectives and other development efforts of China CDC's national disease control and prevention initiatives., Competing Interests: No conflicts of interest., (Copyright and License information: Editorial Office of CCDCW, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2024.)

What Is Already Known About This Topic?: Both the decline in immunity over time and the evolution of the virus play a role in the level of protection offered by a prior infection., What Is Added by This Report?: Point estimates indicated variations in protection levels based on the initial infecting variant and the reinfecting variant. There was a consistent correlation between real-world protection, antigenic distance, and humoral immunity levels. Specifically, shorter antigenic distances and higher humoral immunity levels corresponded to enhanced real-world protection., What Are the Implications for Public Health Practice?: Our findings suggest that virological and immunological studies could help identify and assess the epidemic risk posed by new variants before they become dominant. Prompt incorporation of the latest variants into the antigen components of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines can significantly contribute to effective epidemic prevention and control measures., Competing Interests: No conflicts of interest., (Copyright and License information: Editorial Office of CCDCW, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2024.)

What Is Already Known About This Topic?: Public health workers (PHWs) were listed as a priority group recommended for influenza vaccination during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Understanding the drivers of influenza vaccine hesitancy among PHWs can promote influenza vaccination in the COVID-19 pandemic., What Is Added by This Report?: The study found that 10.7% of PHWs were hesitant to get an influenza vaccination. Drivers associated with vaccine hesitancy were assessed based on "3Cs model." The absence of a government or workplace requirement and concerns about vaccine safety were the biggest obstacles for PHWs to recommend influenza vaccination., What Are the Implications for Public Health Practice?: Interventions are needed to improve PHWs' influenza vaccine coverage to prevent the co-circulation of influenza and COVID-19., Competing Interests: No conflicts of interest., (Copyright and License information: Editorial Office of CCDCW, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2023.)

What is already known about this topic?, Though coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has largely been controlled in China, several outbreaks of COVID-19 have occurred from importation of cases or of suspected virus-contaminated products. Though several outbreaks have been traced to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) isolated on the outer packaging of cold chain products, live virus has not been obtained., What is added by this report?, In September 2020, two dock workers were detected as having asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection using throat swabs during routine screening in Qingdao, China. Epidemiological information showed that the two dock workers were infected after contact with contaminated outer packaging, which was confirmed by genomic sequencing. Compared to the Wuhan reference strain, the sequences from the dock workers and the package materials differed by 12-14 nucleotides. Furthermore, infectious virus from the cold chain products was isolated by cell culture, and typical SARS-CoV-2 particles were observed under electron microscopy., What are the implications for public health practice?, The international community should pay close attention to SARS-CoV-2 transmission mode through cold chain, build international cooperative efforts in response, share relevant data, and call on all countries to take effective prevention and control measures to prevent virus contamination in cold-chain food production, marine fishing and processing, transportation, and other operations., (Copyright and License information: Editorial Office of CCDCW, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2021.)

Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: No conflicts of interest declared.

What is known about this topic?, Few major outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have occurred in China after major non-pharmaceutical interventions and vaccines have been deployed and implemented. However, sporadic outbreaks that had high possibility to be linked to cold chain products were reported in several cities of China.., What is added by this report?, In July 2020, a COVID-19 outbreak occurred in Dalian, China. The investigations of this outbreak strongly suggested that the infection source was from COVID-19 virus-contaminated packaging of frozen seafood during inbound unloading personnel contact., What are the implications for public health practice?, Virus contaminated paper surfaces could maintain infectivity for at least 17-24 days at -25 ℃. Exposure to COVID-19 virus-contaminated surfaces is a potential route for introducing the virus to a susceptible population. Countries with no domestic transmission of COVID-19 should consider introducing prevention strategies for both inbound travellers and imported goods. Several measures to prevent the introduction of the virus via cold-chain goods can be implemented., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest:No conflicts of interest were reported., (Copyright and License information: Editorial Office of CCDCW, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2021.)

What Is Already Known About This Topic?: After the type 2 strain of the live, attenuated poliovirus vaccine was withdrawn globally in 2016, any identification of a type 2 poliovirus is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. A vaccine-derived type 2 poliovirus (VDPV2) was identified in Sichuan, prompting an urgent, comprehensive investigation and response., What Is Added by This Report?: Type 2 monovalent, live, attenuated oral poliovirus vaccine (mOPV2) is being used to respond to the numerous VDPV2 outbreaks seen around the world. In contrast, the response in Sichuan used Sabin strain inactivated poliovirus (sIPV) to stop circulation of the VDPV2. In the 6 months following the vaccination response, there have been no VDPV2s detected in Sichuan, despite extensive search., What Are the Implications for Public Health Practices?: Further search for the VDPV2 must continue in order to determine whether transmission has been stopped. The ongoing investigation and response to the Sichuan VDPV2 is providing evidence to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative on managing VDPV2 outbreaks., (Copyright and License information: Editorial Office of CCDCW, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2020.)

Almost 100 years after the 1918 influenza pandemic, China experienced its largest, most widespread epidemic of human infections with avian influenza A (H7N9), the influenza virus with the greatest pandemic potential of all influenza viruses assessed to date by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Influenza Risk Assessment Tool. This historical review describes how China was affected by the 1918, 1958, 1968, and 2009 influenza pandemics, records milestones in China's capacity to detect and respond to influenza threats, and identifies remaining challenges for pandemic preparedness. This review suggests that past influenza pandemics have improved China's national capabilities such that China has become a global leader in influenza detection and response. Further enhancing China's pandemic preparedness to address remaining challenges requires government commitment and increased investment in China's public health and healthcare systems., (Copyright and License information: Editorial Office of CCDCW, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2019.)

What is already known on this topic?, Cases of histoplasmosis have been reported in every continent except Antarctica but are fairly rare in China. High prevalence of histoplasmosis has been observed in Central America, Caribbean, and South America. Infections of Histoplasma are acquired through a respiratory route, particularly inhalation of aerosols from disturbed soils enriched with excreta from birds and bats. These infections are most common in persons involved with removing soil, visiting caves, cleaning old houses, or felling trees, etc., What is added by this report?, This is the first report of cluster infections of Histoplasma among overseas Chinese workers. A strong dose-dependent association of illness onset and disease severity with the exposure intensity to the soils and wastes possibly contaminated by the Histoplasma has been proposed. Long labor times, repeated entering of contaminated tunnels, working in high-dust environments are likely to result in earlier illness onsets, more severe clinical courses, and even fatal outcomes. More importantly, none of the patients used reliable personal protection equipment (PPE), such as common masks while working, that would prevent the inhalation of more Histoplasma spores., What are the implications for public health practice?, The epidemiological findings of this outbreak investigation highlight a probable risk of infection with Histoplasma when entering without PPE into the environment with bats living around, such as caves or mines. Effective education and communication might be needed among residents and travelers. This outbreak expands our knowledge of the control and prevention of fungal disease in China., (Copyright and License information: Editorial Office of CCDCW, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2019.)

What is already known about this topic?, China has historically had high measles incidence and many associated deaths. A comprehensive measles elimination plan during 2006-2012 substantially reduced measles incidence; however, a resurgence occurred during 2013-2015., What is added by this report?, In China, measles surveillance, outbreak response, research, and program evaluation were used to strengthen routine immunization and target immunization activities for eliminating measles. Measles incidence declined from 31 per million in 2015 to 2.8 in 2018; only one measles-associated death has been reported during 2018-June 2019., What are the implications for public health practice?, The World Health Organization-recommended strategy to eliminate measles can be effective, including in large, densely populated countries like China., (Copyright and License information: Editorial Office of CCDCW, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2019.)

What is already known about this topic?, Plague is an acute infectious disease caused by Yersinia pestis ( Y . pestis ) and is primarily transmitted by rodents. Human can be infected by bites of bacterium-bearing fleas or direct contact with diseased or dead plague-infected animals. In 2004, the last human plague case was reported in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region due to skinning a dead hare., What is added by this report?, This is the first case of pneumonic plague imported into a major city since the founding of the People's Republic of China. Two primary pneumonic plague cases (Patients A and B) found in residents of Inner Mongolia were confirmed in Beijing on November 12, 2019. Another case (Patient C) of Y. pestis was identified as bubonic plague on November 14. Patient A most likely became infected from aerosol exposure to infective droplets while digging on his farm, located in an Meriones unguiculatus ( M. unguiculatus ) natural plague focus. Patient B became infected from contact with Patient A (her husband). Patient C became infected after skinning a dead hare. There was no epidemiological relationship between the Patient A/B and Patient C., What are the implications for public health practice?, When epizootic plague is detected, local health-care providers and the public should be alerted about any possible risks. Public education efforts should focus on promoting personal protection measures., (Copyright and License information: Editorial Office of CCDCW, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2019.)