China has seen unprecedented large-scale protests against strict corona restrictions in recent days.
The country’s administration does not seem to relax its zero-tolerance corona policy, but announced a few days after the protests began that it would start speeding up the vaccination of the elderly population.
China has justified the severe restrictions precisely with the non-vaccination of the elderly population and concerns about the carrying capacity of the medical care system.
With the rapid spread of omicron transformation, maintaining zero tolerance may prove to be impossible in the near future, says a Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post (you will switch to another service) the experts interviewed. They call for increasing vaccination coverage, especially for the elderly, so that risk groups are better protected and hospital capacity is not overloaded.
– Limiting infections is not a long-term solution to the treatment of the pandemic, says a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong David Hui Shu-cheong for SCMP.
Today, on Tuesday, China announced that it intends to speed up the vaccination of the elderly. According to China’s National Health Committee, the elderly will be encouraged to take vaccines through new awareness campaigns and easier access.
Vaccination coverage is generally at a high level in China, except for one population group. Only 66 percent of those over 80 have received the full series of corona vaccinations and only 40 percent have received a booster dose. Vaccination coverage for people over 60 is also lower than average.
We asked the professor of Chinese society and culture about the vaccination situation in the country From Matti Nojos from the University of Lapland and THL vaccine researcher, senior physician From Hanna Nohynekwho will start in January as the chairman of the strategic expert group on vaccination of the World Health Organization WHO.
What is the significance of China’s recent announcement on increasing the vaccination of the elderly?
Lean: – Good if they succeed in that. It will save lives and China could open society. It is not yet known whether the vaccines are sufficient, how well they work and how quickly the vaccinated respond to the corona. But basically this is the best solution.
Why are the elderly in China more reluctant to take the vaccine than other age groups?
Lean: – The background is doubt or fear that vaccines will cause side symptoms. In China, there have also been a lot of counterfeit medicines in the last decade, even in basic vaccines and other medicines. Due to mistrust and rumours, the elderly are afraid to take corona vaccines.
Will China be able to increase vaccination coverage by increasing the vaccination of the elderly?
Lean: – China has the ability to organize huge campaigns to achieve the desired goals if the vaccine capacity is sufficient. The authorities have a clear desire to vaccinate, but even though the party is omnipotent in a certain sense, it is very difficult to force people to take vaccines. It’s such a personal and intimate thing.
– Even though China is not a rule of law, in a case like this, people start wondering what right you have to stick that thorn in me. People’s understanding should be increased by educating them about it.
Nohynek: – I don’t see that there is any obstacle to China not being able to increase vaccination coverage. However, it does mean that they must systematically confront and respond to the concerns that people have about vaccine safety.
So far, China has not accepted Western vaccines. What kind of corona vaccines are there in China?
Nohynek: – Several different products have been developed and produced in China. The first to be used was the so-called inactivated vaccine using traditional methods. They are not quite as effective as the mRNA vaccines and not necessarily as effective as the adenovirus vector vaccines that they also have.
– Currently, they are also developing their own mRNA vaccines. In addition, the Chinese have been the first to introduce an aerosol vaccine based on adenovirus vector technology, where the vaccine is inhaled. Its effectiveness in humans is not yet known. It is partly due to the fact that there has been so little corona in China.
– China has good researchers and plenty of production facilities. China does not necessarily need the Western world to develop second and third generation corona vaccines.
How is the development of China’s own mRNA vaccines progressing?
Nohynek: – As far as I understand, their development is at an advanced stage and clinical trials are being conducted, but I can’t say when they will get a sales license for them from the pharmaceutical authority. For previous vaccines, they have also applied for sales permits from the WHO, so that they can gain international visibility and approval for them. I can’t say if they will do the same for the mRNA vaccine. There is currently no shortage of them in the world, on the contrary.
If the elderly population were more widely vaccinated, would China get rid of the strict corona restrictions?
Nohynek: – Not necessarily if they continue on the zero line. Corona vaccines currently in use are not able to prevent infections very well, but they would still occur. Then the question would be whether we accept infections and are satisfied that inactivated and adenovirus vector vaccines provide reasonably good protection against serious disease. It would be a bit like the same discussion that has taken place in Finland.
– According to the Western epidemiological point of view, there is a heavy price for trying to prevent all corona cases even after the population is well protected with vaccinations.
How does the Chinese administration react to the demands to relax the restrictions?
Lean: – The situation is very difficult for the party. The pressure to ease the corona restrictions is strong. People are really tired of the lockdown.
– The party and the president Xi Jinping are unable to admit that they have made wrong decisions. Reversing the zero-corona policy practiced throughout the pandemic would be a very radical concession. All power and decisions are personified in one leader. On the other hand, if the death rate goes up and the hospitals fill up, people start saying that the whole policy was a fiasco.
– The administration’s only means, which it has already started, is to bring riot police to demonstrations, identify the organizers and impose harsh sentences. It is hoped that this example will keep the people on their toes.
What do you think about China’s corona policy and citizens’ frustration? You can discuss the topic until Wednesday, November 30, 2022 at 11 p.m.
Sources: Reuters, AFP