Vials of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine are seen at the booth of Fosun BioNTech at the Medical Equipment and Healthcare Products Exhibition Area of the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 7, 2021. Photo: Xinhua

China's first international vaccine innovation center, the Greater Bay Area International Vaccine Innovation Center, was officially inaugurated on Saturday in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, and will be fully open to the public, amid the sudden emergence of the new Omicron variant.

The center will provide a platform to promote popular science related to vaccine and strengthen protection and control against the complicated and changeable epidemic, as well as upgrading the structure of the domestic vaccine industry, building a bridge between China and the world for vaccine innovation cooperation, analysts said. 

Amid growing concerns over the coronavirus, vaccines have become the most effective efforts in the fight against the coronavirus. However, vaccination efforts are facing challenges, including lack of scientific knowledge of vaccines among adults and difficulties in tracing vaccine information.

The 5G intelligent vaccination clinic and unmanned vaccination systems displayed by the innovation center have integrated the functions from R&D and production, cold chain logistics, and electronic label tracing before vaccines enter the vaccination clinic, to cloud registration and unmanned vaccination, which will simplify the vaccination process and improve efficiency.
The center also displayed the resilience of cooperation between China and France. In November 2019, the two countries signed a memorandum of strategic cooperation on vaccine innovation, proposing to promote international cooperation in innovative vaccine research and development and help Shenzhen build the first world-class vaccine innovation center in China.

During the opening ceremony on Saturday, France's Ambassador to China Monsieur Laurent Bili said that public health cooperation, especially vaccine cooperation, is one of the priorities for the development of Franco-Chinese relations.

 "This newly inaugurated International Vaccine Innovation Center will promote greater dialogue among the relevant industries in the Greater Bay Area as well as contributing to the Franco-Chinese cooperation in the field of public health," he said.