Coronavirus: second wave over winter ‘inevitable’ in China, infectious disease expert says

Shanghai specialist points to situation in Europe, saying vaccine will be the only way to contain the pandemic – but that could be at least a year away

His remarks come as southwestern Yunnan province goes into ‘wartime mode’ to tackle an outbreak of cases

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Infectious disease expert Zhang Wenhong (centre) says even if a safe and effective vaccine is developed, it may not be widely available for at least a year. Photo: Weibo

Published: 7:57pm, 21 Sep 2020Updated: 11:08pm, 21 Sep 2020

A second wave of Covid-19 infections in China over winter is “inevitable” and until a vaccine is available there could be further outbreaks in the country, according to an infectious disease expert.

But Zhang Wenhong, director of the infectious disease department at Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, said even if a safe and effective vaccine was developed, it could be at least a year before it is widely available, according to news website The Paper.

“In China, people have been asking if there will be a second wave of the pandemic in winter. Now that Europe is having a second wave, it is inevitable we will see a second wave of infections,” Zhang was quoted as saying in a speech at a forum in Shanghai on Sunday.

He said a vaccine was the only way to contain the pandemic.

“But it’s hardly likely that drug makers will be able to produce vaccines and supply them to the market within a year,” he said.

In the meantime, officials were carrying out checks in every province and municipality in the country to make sure measures were being followed to avoid any large-scale outbreaks, according to Zhang.