China failing at covid

[shpalman]

Authorities in Beijing are racing to contain a Covid-19 outbreak traced to a 24-hour bar known for cheap liquor and big crowds

... with millions of people facing mandatory testing and thousands under targeted lockdowns.

[Herainestold]

China has the tools and the societal will to deal with this. Dynamic lockdowns worked in Shanghai, they will work in Beijing.

[headshot]

China has the tools and the societal will to deal with this. Dynamic lockdowns worked in Shanghai, they will work in Beijing.

Uh-huh.

[Chris Preston]

China has the tools and the societal will to deal with this. Dynamic lockdowns worked in Shanghai, they will work in Beijing.

To what point?

Shanghai was locked down for 2 months. Is China going to continue to do this every time they get COVID-19 cases forever?

Lockdowns are only a means to an end, not an end in themselves. China has no end game plan.

[shpalman]

Their lockdowns work so well that they've decided to have another one

[Bird on a Fire]

Waldbomber.jpg

[Chris Preston]

Their lockdowns work so well that they've decided to have another one

Currently there are lockdowns affecting 28 cities and more than 200 million people.

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chi ... 022-10-27/

[shpalman]

China has recorded its highest number of daily Covid cases since it caused the pandemic

[Herainestold]

For more than two years, US imperialism has exerted unrelenting pressure on China to lift its Zero-COVID policy, as part of its broader efforts to militarily encircle and subjugate the country. Countless columns have been published denouncing China’s public health policies for their impact on corporate profits, demanding they be scrapped no matter what the cost in human lives.

If the situation in mainland China does spiral out of control, it would be a world-historic tragedy. China is home to 1.4 billion people, one-sixth of the world’s population. A study published in May found that if Omicron were allowed to spread freely in China, in just six months there would likely be 112 million symptomatic cases, 5.1 million hospital admissions, 2.7 million ICU admissions and 1.6 million deaths. The real-world outcomes could be far worse than those predicted by this model, particularly given the evolution of even more infectious and immune-resistant variants over the past six months.

As the World Socialist Web Site has continuously stressed, the only way forward to stop the pandemic is for the international working class to take matters into its own hands and fight for a Zero-COVID global elimination strategy. This entails the simultaneous deployment of every public health measure available, as well as the modernization of infrastructure to ensure that every public space is free of harmful viruses and bacteria. The fight for this program is indissolubly connected to the fight for world socialism, based on the prioritization of human needs above private profit.

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/1 ... s-n18.html

[headshot]

My god, you’re a daft c.nt.

[Martin Y]

The only answer to China's failing Covid strategy is for everyone else to copy it. f.cking genius.

[shpalman]

fascist Chinese authorities beat BBC journalist to "for his own good in case he covid from the crowd"

[Grumble]

herainestold, has it occurred to you that if China encouraged honest science they might have a vaccine that actually works?

[Herainestold]

herainestold, has it occurred to you that if China encouraged honest science they might have a vaccine that actually works?

They have more than one vaccine and they all work. China's big mistake was not vaccinating its elderly population, one of the few things that the UK got right. None of the various vaccines work to prevent transmission of the Omicron variants, for more than a few weeks.They all work well for preventing severe outcomes, if you get the boosters.
The Chinese understand that the only way to halt transmission is by lockdown , quarantine and isolation. The death toll in China is still miniscule compared to other countries, they have saved millions of lives.

[shpalman]

“Unfortunately, the vaccines in China were not very good”

Vaccine scepticism and fatigue are also factors. Writing in the Guardian, Prof Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, says reports suggest only about 40% of over-80s have received a booster shot, and millions remain unvaccinated.

“[China] didn’t promote the vaccine to elderly groups until November 2021, but by this time considerable vaccine scepticism had built up … the low effectiveness of the non-mRNA Chinese vaccines were also a concern: studies indicated that protection faded fast and was undetectable after six months.”

China has reported far fewer deaths compared with other large nations and has one of the lowest deaths per capita in the world, but it will eventually have to open its borders, a step that will inevitably bring a surge of disease, says Dr Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at Britain’s University of East Anglia.

“The surge will peak very quickly and also fade rather quickly. But while they are going through it, it will be dreadful.”

The consensus among global health experts is that zero-Covid is unsustainable in the long term.

But in the face of unprecedented public opposition, there’s little evidence that authorities are willing to diverge from the path they are currently on.

[Bird on a Fire]

Also, at least on their track record with all sorts of stuff from fisheries to CFCs, one would be wise to treat reported numbers from China as less than literal representations of actual measurements. (Not unique to China in this context, though.)

[Opti]

... and now, just like that, China has abandoned the zero-Covid approach. I look forward to Herainestold immediately telling us all why they have changed a winning plan.

[shpalman]

They appear to be going for the line that Omicron is less dangerous.

I don't get why they couldn't have at least been as fascist about vaccinating everyone as they have been about locking them down or faking their numbers.

[Herainestold]

... and now, just like that, China has abandoned the zero-Covid approach. I look forward to Herainestold immediately telling us all why they have changed a winning plan.

It will be a disaster. China has the worlds best record against covid, and now they are abandoning the policies that worked so well.

[Opti]

... and now, just like that, China has abandoned the zero-Covid approach. I look forward to Herainestold immediately telling us all why they have changed a winning plan.

It will be a disaster. China has the worlds best record against covid, and now they are abandoning the policies that worked so well.

Why would they change those policies if they were so great? What changed?

[Opti]

Interesting piece by Stephen Reicher in today's Grauniad.
What do you think Herainestold?

[shpalman]

China has rolled back its most severe Covid policies - including forcing people into quarantine camps - just a week after landmark protests against the strict controls.

[Herainestold]

This will be a disaster for China. And for the world as new more virulent variants are generated

[jdc]

This will be a disaster for China. And for the world as new more virulent variants are generated

Should have got some Pfizer in while they had the chance.

[bob sterman]

This will be a disaster for China. And for the world as new more virulent variants are generated

Should have got some Pfizer in while they had the chance.

Indeed - "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" or "A lockdown of a thousand days begins with failure to import mRNA COVID vaccines"