(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) Global disease experts point out that little is known about China’s experience with “long-term COVID-19” – the long-term and comprehensive sequelae of COVID-19 – which affects millions of people in the UK, Canada, the United States and other countries. COVID-19 affects debilitating fatigue, brain fog and other symptoms that can last for months or even years.
China used domestically produced vaccines and implemented a lockdown after the outbreak, basically avoiding contact with the virus until the late stages of the epidemic. Experts believe that such a rare experience may provide extremely valuable data and insights for COVID-19 research.
But programs funded by state agencies and the attitude of Chinese scientists and policy experts suggest that China’s scientific research community may be losing interest in studying the novel coronavirus as people gradually forget about stay-at-home orders and contact tracing measures during the new crown epidemic.
“I think the country wants to put COVID-19 behind it”
Martin Taylor, the World Health Organization representative in China, pointed out that most of the new coronavirus cases in China occurred less than a year ago. China’s research may provide a different perspective from other countries and help clarify the cause of COVID-19. , prevalence and risk factors, which are not yet fully understood. “In light of this, WHO encourages China to conduct more research.”
But scholars point to signs that China may be reducing or even abandoning public health-related COVID-19 research, including from government agencies that provide funding and academic journals that publish research reports.
Ben Cowling, an epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong, said: “Although there was a wave of COVID-19 last winter and a large proportion of people were infected for the first time, I haven’t heard much about long-term COVID-19, nor have I heard much about it. I told you about the research on COVID-19.”
“I’m quite surprised by this, but I know this can be a sensitive subject… I think the country wants to put COVID-19 behind it,” he said.
Current status of COVID-19 research
In a call for proposals for a research project, the National Office of Philosophy and Social Sciences did not include topics related to epidemics, although related topics had been included in the past; and according to documents posted on the website of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the committee cut one The number of funded projects scheduled under the COVID-19 research plan.
But some researchers point out that funding could also come from elsewhere. In fact, the Natural Science Foundation provided special funding this year for anti-coronavirus drugs and basic scientific research related to COVID-19.
The two agencies did not respond to requests for comment.
Chinese researchers have also published a series of research reports on COVID-19, and more are expected to appear in the future.
A study published in November found that half of a group of patients discharged from a Wuhan hospital in early 2020 still had symptoms, mostly mild, three years later. Another study published in Beijing in October noted that among a group of medical staff and a group of residents who had been infected with COVID-19, 28.7% of the medical staff and 39.2% of the residents still had COVID-19 symptoms five months after infection.
However, several scholars and doctors in China said that due to the sensitivity of biological data security and the eagerness of policymakers to put the epidemic behind them, the scientific research community has become increasingly cautious about COVID-19.
Tan Hao, a scholar at the Emergency Science Research Center of Hunan University, said: “Although government investment continues… the interest of domestic scientific researchers seems to be declining.” He called for the establishment of a platform for COVID-19 patients to provide them with guidance and support.
Chinese Health Commission: “The incidence of COVID-19 is low and organ damage is quite rare.”
China’s National Health Commission wrote in a faxed response to inquiries that China supports scientific researchers studying the new coronavirus. The response also pointed out that Chinese and international studies to date show that the incidence of COVID-19 is low, organ damage is quite rare, and symptoms will gradually improve over time.
Reuters contacted relevant agencies, the Ministry of Science and Technology, China’s State Council and other departments, but received no reply.
Many scientific researchers said that many countries have downplayed the importance of COVID-19 or even admitted that it is a disease, while China’s huge population and unique situation make it play a particularly critical role in COVID-19 research.
Ziyad Al-Aly, a senior clinical epidemiologist at the University of Washington, believes: “Chinese scientists have a huge opportunity to contribute and help us solve this complex problem.” He pointed out that China’s public health response measures may provide reference , and has the potential to optimize future vaccine strategies. “I hope they don’t sit back and watch the clock tick by.”
(Reuters)
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2023-12-17 09:29:17
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