BEIJING (AP) — Even as authorities lock down cities in China’s worst COVID-19 outbreak in two years, they’re also considering leaving behind what has been a successful but costly prevention strategy.
A study, interviews with Chinese public health personnel and recent public messages from government-affiliated experts indicate that the country is exploring ways to gradually relax its zero-tolerance stance, emphasizing that it must be done little by little.
The latest hint emerged Monday in an essay published by Zhang Wenhong, an infectious disease specialist who is part of Shanghai’s COVID-19 response team and is known as China’s “Dr. Fauci” for his health messages. during the pandemic that evoke those of the US government expert Anthony Fauci.
Zhang wrote in Caixin, a Chinese business news outlet, that the public needs to know that the virus is becoming less deadly if the population is vaccinated and their health is not compromised beforehand.
“Dispelling the terror about this is a step we must take,” he noted in the essay.
“We must chart a very clear path and not spend all our time debating whether we should continue with the ‘zero COVID’ plan or coexist (with the virus),” he wrote.
Change does not seem imminent, with more than 15,000 new cases this month from separate outbreaks in various parts of the country, as well as a much larger one that has rocked Hong Kong. For now, the government is sticking to its tried-and-tested policy of lockdowns, large-scale diagnostic testing of millions of people, and quarantines of at least two weeks for all arrivals from abroad.
Once it arrives, any change is likely to be gradual and cautious. A reopening carries risks, and the success the country has had in protecting its population from COVID-19 means that many people do not have the antibodies from previous infections to fight the virus. Furthermore, China only uses its locally developed vaccines, which are less effective than those of Pfizer and others used on a large scale globally.
“Given the still relatively low infection rate, the lack of natural immunity, and also the ineffectiveness of vaccines in preventing infections… this warrants an invitation for another wave of attacks,” said Yanzhong Huang, a public health expert at the council. of Foreign Affairs of the United States.
Wu reported from Taipei, Taiwan. Associated Press writer Emily Wang contributed to this report.
