The Chinese government has launched six rounds of national drug price negotiation since 2016 to lower the price and expand access to innovative drugs, many of which are anticancer drugs. This study aims to examine the effect of the second round of negotiation at the provincial level on the expenditure, volume, and availability of anti-cancer drugs. Procurement data at the provincial level from January 2017 to September 2018 were extracted from the China Drug Supply Information Platform (CDSIP). The volume, expenditure, and availability of three targeted anti-cancer drugs, rituximab, trastuzumab, and recombinant human endostatin (RHE), in 11 provinces that implemented the policy in September 2017 were analyzed through a controlled interrupted time series (ITS) analysis. A significant 6.0% increase (p < 0.1) in monthly average expenditure, an increase in the volume of 99.51 DDDs (defined daily doses) (p < 0.1), and a 0.24% (p < 0.1) increase in availability were observed for rituximab following the implementation of the policy. The volume and availability of rituximab increased by 949.6 DDDs (p < 0.05) and 1.56%, respectively, immediately after implementation. The availability of trastuzumab increased by 5.14% (p < 0.01) immediately after the implementation while no instant changes in expenditure and volume were observed. A 15% (p < 0.01) increase in monthly expenditure, 3673.17 DDDs increase in volume, and 0.66% increase in availability were observed after the inclusion of Trastuzumab. However, for RHE, only a 0.32% (p < 0.01) increase was observed after its inclusion. Eastern and middle provinces benefited more than western provinces. National negotiation related to the drug price significantly increased the volume and expenditure of anti-cancer drugs and improved their availability. The effect of the policy might be different across different regions and across different anticancer drugs.

The COVID-19 vaccination coverage rate is notably high among the Chinese population; however, as China eased its zero-COVID policy in November 2022, the pandemic outbreak has imposed a substantial burden on Chinese society. This study aims to analyze real-world vaccination effectiveness and waning effects among community-based COVID-19 infection-naive individuals in China and among different sub-groups. An online questionnaire survey was conducted in Beijing, China, from January 13th to February 9th, 2023 and a total of 45,344 eligible respondents were included in the analysis. Vaccination and infection status among different groups classified by age (under 18, 18-59, and over 60) and health conditions (having underlying disease, allergy, cancer, immune deficiency or organ transplant) were analyzed. Propensity score matching and ordered logistic regression were used to examine the effectiveness of different COVID-19 vaccine types, vaccination strategies and the waning effects. The infection rate was 82.42 % among sampled population. The vaccination rate was 94.70 %, with 23.73 % of them completed primacy vaccination series, 68.54 % completed homogenous booster vaccination and 2.43 % completed heterogenous booster vaccination; however, the high-risk population had a lower vaccination coverage. Results showed that real-world vaccine effectiveness (VE) of homogenous and heterogenous booster vaccination against infection were 11 % and 23 %, respectively, and the elderly benefited the most. Adolescents had a lower booster vaccination coverage and no significant VE was identified. No significant differences were observed among different vaccine types, and waning effects were identified in the booster vaccination group 12 months post-vaccination. Low vaccination coverage among high-risk and vulnerable may lead to a huge disease and societal burden, thus improving vaccine coverage of these groups should be prioritized. In addition, due to waning immunity, regular booster vaccination should be scheduled within 12 months.