A next wave is expected to hit China very soon. Something to worry scientists who point to an “insufficient” level of immunity.
The Chine facing variant Omicron. After advocating the zero covid policy since the start of the pandemicthe country has to deal with these strains that are less severe but much more contagious. After one first wave which pulverized the “official” figures of contaminations in April, a study predicts the worst.
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Covid – Omicron: why could a new, more contagious and more severe variant emerge in China?
Insufficient level of immunity
Indeed, according to estimates by researchers at Fudan University in Shanghai published on May 10 in the journal Nature, a next wave between May and July could prove devastating for the Chinese: 112 million symptomatic cases, more than 5 million hospitalizations and 1.6 million deaths. Figures that join those mentioned by specialists from Peking University.
According to scientists, this “tsunami” would be caused by… the cessation of zero covid policy. In other words, if China lets the virus freely in the image of Western countries, all without restrictions such as mass testing campaigns and strict country lockdowns. The study notes that the level ofimmunity established by the campaign vaccination carried out in March would be “insufficient” to prevent an Omicron wave which would overwhelm intensive care services in particular.
A zero Covid policy that has recently been heavily criticized by theOMS.
China risks 1.6 million deaths if it abandons the Covid Zero policy. A peer-reviewed study found that the level of immunity induced by China’s vaccination campaign would be “insufficient” to prevent an Omicron wave.https://t.co/TJishl2efO
— Dr Jean-Jacques Fraslin (@Fraslin) May 12, 2022
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