‘China’s Dr Fauci’ calls for change in zero-Covid focus as cities roll back strictest curbs

Not zero cases but fewer severe ones and more vaccine coverage should be the aim, Shanghai infectious diseases expert Zhang Wenhong says

Repeated signals from Beijing indicate a shift in policy, but sometimes contradictory messaging has left some cities and residents confused

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Migrant workers leave a barricaded village after Covid-19 curbs are eased in Haizhu district in Guangzhou in southern China. Photo: AP

Published: 3:42pm, 4 Dec 2022Updated: 4:49pm, 4 Dec 2022

China should no longer aim for zero infections but focus on lowering severe or symptomatic cases, a Shanghai infectious diseases expert regarded as “China’s Dr Fauci” has said.

The call from Zhang Wenhong – leader of the Shanghai team tackling Covid-19 – comes as repeated signals from Beijing in the past weeks indicate a shift in the country’s strict anti-pandemic policy.

Those signals seem to have become more frequent since protests across the country against the stringent zero-Covid measures in place for the last three years.

Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan, the top enforcer of China’s anti-pandemic policy, announced last Wednesday that Covid prevention had entered “a new chapter”, pledging that more adjustments were on the way.

Addressing a medical forum on Saturday, Zhang emphasised the need for greater vaccine coverage and earlier drug intervention, saying vaccination appeared to limit the mutation of the Covid-19 virus.

Zhang Wenhong says the focus now should be on lowering severe or symptomatic cases. Photo: Weibo

“Through vaccination and drug treatment, we may have entered a phase where we can tame and control the virus,” said Zhang, one of China’s most trusted public health figures who is often compared to Dr Anthony Fauci - the top US infectious disease expert and pandemic adviser.

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