China: New outbreak of covid-19 cases.
What is the real situation in China regarding the fight against Covid-19? Recently, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, asked China to share information on the development of the pandemic in the country. In Germany, some politicians have even proposed cutting off air links with China. Should we really be concerned about the rise in Covid-19 cases in the Middle Kingdom?
Until a few weeks ago, testing positive for Covid-19 and staying in quarantine at home was impossible in China. But with the authorities’ shift away from the strictest health restrictions, infected people like Yang and his family can treat themselves at home.
“I think it’s actually acceptable. From my point of view, at the moment, most of the friends I know have symptoms, some mild, some more severe, but none of them have been to hospital. I would say that this way the intensive care beds won’t be too busy and can be available for the people who need them most,” she explains.
While it is difficult to know exactly what is happening in Chinese hospitals, one thing is certain: since the sudden lifting of most of the health restrictions in force at the beginning of December, the country has been facing an explosion of cases of infection.
This unprecedented outbreak has led to fears of a high mortality rate among the elderly, who are particularly vulnerable but also less vaccinated. In addition to the reluctance of the elderly to be vaccinated, the effectiveness of Chinese vaccines is also being questioned.
This is not the case according to Professor Antoine Flahault, Director of the Institute of Global Health in Geneva.
“The Chinese vaccine is inferior to the messenger RNA vaccine when there are two doses. When there are three doses, the two types of vaccine have comparable effectiveness. It is possible that the vaccine hesitancy of the elderly is partly related to a lack of confidence in Chinese vaccines,” he says.
Until the Chinese have access to messenger RNA vaccines, the authorities, relying on their own resources and technologies, intend to optimise prevention and control measures to make them more scientific, accurate and effective.
They also claim that “China’s vaccination rate is increasing, as is the vaccine’s ability to treat people”. China is also reportedly increasing its production of medical supplies.
Miss OLY
