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Zero chance for China’s zero-Covid aim now virus has adapted, Sars expert says
- ‘No chance if we set a goal to eliminate all Covid-19 cases’, because virus has foothold and ‘will stay with us for the long term’, Guan Yi says
- Country should find out population’s antibody level after vaccination and how long it lasts, not obsess about testing to identify cases, he argues
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A “zero tolerance” approach to Covid-19 will not succeed now that the coronavirus has fully adapted to people and cannot be eliminated, according to a renowned scientist whose work helped China avert a second Sars outbreak in 2004.
China should focus on building a shield of protection using vaccines, and should test its population’s immunity level after vaccination to determine which jabs to administer, Guan Yi told Phoenix TV in an interview aired on Monday.
Guan is director of the State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases at Shantou University in southern China, which runs the lab in partnership with the University of Hong Kong.
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Mainland China has begun giving booster shots after inoculating almost 80 per cent of its 1.4 billion people, and has started vaccinating its children.
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As more countries ditch ‘zero-Covid’ policy, why is China opting to ‘wait and see’?
As more countries ditch ‘zero-Covid’ policy, why is China opting to ‘wait and see’?
However, the country has grappled with sporadic outbreaks, the latest of which has reached at least 20 provinces and regions. On Monday, it reported 43 new local symptomatic cases as well as 19 imported and 74 asymptomatic infections, after days of mass testing and quarantine in multiple areas.
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