Many years from now, how will you tell future generations about the year 2022?
The COVID-19 epidemic is raging, the Russia-Ukraine war breaks out, and the international situation is in turmoil... In the real-world script of the grand narrative, the ups and downs of the plot are enough to make any "historian" write a book, and it is enough to eclipse any film and television script.
The dust of the era has fallen on every family and every life. You and I have probably forgotten how many times this year, cotton swabs were inserted into the throat, how many days we stayed at home, and how many planned itineraries were unexpectedly interrupted. What may also be forgotten are the countless joys and sorrows, but what is unforgettable are too many sad separations of life and death.
Looking back on this year, everyone has too much to say. But when the words came to my lips, they felt stuck in my throat.
Just when you and I were lamenting that "this year has not been easy," the historical script of 2022 turned to its last page:
"Beijing, the capital of China, a megacity with a population of more than 20 million, fired the first shot in the face of the new coronavirus."
"The 430th Game"
On December 7, Beijing's new coronavirus pneumonia epidemic prevention and control press conference announced: "Implement twenty optimization measures, implement the new ten further optimization measures" and "restore normal production and living order as soon as possible, and resume work and production."
At the meeting, Zhong Dongbo, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Health Commission Party Committee, made it clear that from now on, nucleic acid and health codes will no longer be tested when entering and returning to Beijing. Qualified asymptomatic and mild cases will generally be quarantined at home. As soon as the news about
was released, the circle of friends instantly flooded the screen. That day, the press conference numbered "the 430th" was defined by many as "epoch-making significance."
"Finally returned to the state before the epidemic." A car owner who had been stranded in other places for more than a month rushed back to Beijing as soon as possible. "Without nucleic acid testing, the speed of passing through the highway checkpoint was much faster."
html On December 8, Beijing was busy with traffic, and the traffic volume during peak hours surged by 30%. West Second Ring Road , South Fourth Ring Road , East Third Ring Road have seen the congestion of the past again.
And this "return" was so brief that it was unbelievable. Soon, people discovered that their colleagues at work were "yang" and their relatives and friends were "yang".
On December 11, the number of patients visiting fever clinics in Beijing surged to 22,000, 16 times the number a week ago. From December 5 to 11, influenza-like illness monitoring data showed that the city’s second-level and above hospitals monitored 19,000 influenza-like illness cases, an increase of 6.2 times from the previous week.
Walking on the street, you can deeply feel the "lethal power" of virus . The streets were deserted again, and the subway was sparsely populated. Restaurant owners who originally criticized the "ban on dine-in" have now become cautious. The Quanjude main store in Beijing has five floors for dine-in, but only one floor was open at that time. In a restaurant in Chaoyang District , the waiter enthusiastically declined every guest who wanted to dine in and suggested "take away".
When a customer asked about "not complying with the requirements of the press conference," the store replied: "Please understand that we are also responsible for the health of our employees."
On December 12, when many supermarkets had sold out canned yellow peaches, the 431st press conference was held. The number of fever clinics in Beijing hospitals has increased from 94 to 303, and all second-level and above hospitals in the city have opened fever clinics or clinics. Among them, 235 have 24-hour clinics and 100 can receive children with fever.
On this day, the lowest temperature in Beijing was minus 9 degrees, but the body temperature of many people exceeded 38 degrees. Long queues formed in front of hospitals and pharmacies on the roadside. More than 700 hospitals and nearly 6,000 pharmacies in the city were facing an unprecedented test.
A medicine buyer in the cold wind
“I coughed all night long and couldn’t sleep.” “The child at home has a fever again and can’t get rid of it.” “Do you still have N95s? Do you have to rush to grab them?”...
After the peak of the first wave of infections, pharmacists at Fangzhuang People’s Health Pharmacy in Fengtai District have to deal with the same problems every day.The pharmacist's hoarse voice revealed the exhaustion after a long and heavy workload.
At night, only a few street lights were on. Patients who couldn't buy the medicine opened the map on their mobile phones and kept looking for the next one. Pass through a long street and walk to the nearest pharmacy, which takes at least ten minutes. This pharmacy is only open until nine o'clock in the evening recently, and the door is crowded with patients wrapped in cotton-padded jackets and with their heads lowered.
The two pharmacies serve the "yangkang" needs of residents in three nearby communities and dozens of buildings. "There is no way, no one, tired, really tired." This is almost the state of all pharmacy staff in Beijing recently.
Opposite the busy Daxing Yizhuang Community Hospital, there is no queue in front of a small pharmacy, but there is still a steady stream of people coming in and out. A young man who was in a hurry for a business trip wanted to buy some ibuprofen, paracetamol, Lianhua Qingwen, antigen detection kits, N95 masks, and portable spray alcohol. But the store clerk responded one by one: "No, we have to wait until tomorrow afternoon for the goods to arrive, but there is no guarantee that we will be able to buy them when we come."
Many nearby pharmacies have even posted notices in front of the doors saying "All types of COVID-19 drugs are sold out." The young man who was anxious to go on a business trip finally gave up looking. The person who bought medicine for his family looked for navigation and headed to a pharmacy further away. "Everything in Beijing is out of stock right now, so I really can't try it online." Looking at the disappointed customer, the clerk reminded him.
The strong wind blows straight into one’s bones. Some people say that in Beijing in December, the air is filled with the smell of or micron.
"We are in Beijing"
"It's useless. The order I placed online on the 8th has not been shipped for more than ten days." When the first wave of infection peak came, it was also difficult to find medicine online.
Compared with the queues in offline pharmacies, the point where online drug purchase orders surge comes earlier.
html On the evening of December 2, online real-name registration for four categories of commodities in Beijing was cancelled. The number of online orders from Gaoji Medical has surged. Order volume reached its peak on December 5, an increase of 400% compared to before the epidemic. Demand for fever-reducing, cough-relieving, antiviral, and antibiotic drugs has exploded across the board. Sales of Tylenol and Merrill Lynch increased by 4,000% compared to before the epidemic. Sales of Lanqin oral liquid and Ganmao Qingre granules increased by 3,000% compared with before the epidemic. Sales of 999 Ganmaoling granules increased by 1,500% compared with before the epidemic.
What followed was a crisis in logistics across the board. There is a shortage of people for picking goods, a shortage of people for delivery, and a shortage of people for unloading...
For a time, employees in various positions volunteered to join the battle and rushed to the front line of logistics. Even Wang Gang, the head of Gaoji Medical’s Beijing platform, often unloads goods until four or five in the morning. Employees who have private cars and can drive have directly joined the logistics team. At the end of the day, many people were so tired that they could not speak after walking 40,000 steps a day.
"When you are hungry, just buy a sesame seed cake nearby, take a bite of it, put it in your pocket when the order comes, and deliver it." In the past ten days, Zhang Yan, the medicine delivery boy of Dingdang Kuaiyao , has been working hard for a day. "Most of the people who buy medicine online are in a hurry. I can carry it when I am hungry, but the patients can't afford to wait."
Because many people have fevers, at the beginning of the month, almost 60% of the medicine delivery boys of Dingdang Kuaiyao were forced to stay at home for observation. These days, most of the drug delivery guys who insist on being on duty deliver orders for more than 10 hours a day and ride more than 100 kilometers. In Zhang Yan’s impression, the most he delivered in one day was hundreds of orders, and the latest order was delivered at 2 o’clock in the middle of the night.
While countless "Wang Gang" and "Zhang Yan" were running around day and night, many people successively received medicines, masks, and antigens purchased online.
At 9:30 on December 17, Tian Guotao, general manager and deputy secretary of the party committee of Sinopharm Co., Ltd., received a message on his mobile phone, "We have entered Beijing." His hanging heart was finally relieved.
2 days ago, at 19:30 on the 15th, it was freezing and snowy outside in Urumqi, Xinjiang. A large truck with a red banner of "Medical Vehicle to Aid Beijing", carrying more than 10 tons of medical supplies and two drivers, left the logistics center of Xinjiang Xinte Pharmaceutical Company of Sinopharm Group. All the way east, driving 2,800 kilometers non-stop for more than 40 hours, rushing to help Beijing.
At the same time, Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Cardinal Health Beijing coordinates through the headquarters of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holdings to allocate urgently needed drugs and materials from Jiangxi, Shanghai, Shandong, Liaoning and other places to ensure supply in Beijing. Arrange logistics personnel with combat effectiveness and restored combat effectiveness to take turns to ensure the supply and distribution of medical institutions and retail pharmacies.
On the lifeline of drug retail and circulation, countless companies and individuals have taken over the "baton" to ease Beijing's supply shortage. On December 17, the Beijing Municipal Medical Insurance Bureau issued a notice to temporarily include six drugs including "Compound Paracetamol Capsules" into the drug reimbursement scope of the city's medical insurance and work-related injury insurance.
It was also during this period that many of the first wave of infected people in Beijing gradually joined the "camp" of "yangguo" and "yangkang" after experiencing 5 to 10 days of suffering.
The year-end summaries of some companies were held as scheduled. In the conference room, people wore masks and coughs could be heard one after another. But anyway, the popularity is gradually growing. Young people who are "carrying it" at home have begun to share their epidemic prevention experiences and the jokes they just made online.
However, people soon discovered that the "first battle" of "hand-to-hand combat" with Omicron was far from over. At this moment, more lives are experiencing a cruel test of life and death before the gate of hell.
Common concerns
html At 23:00 in the middle of the night on December 26, at Beijing Hospital on Dongdan Dahua Road, Dongcheng District, Beijing, an ambulance rushed into the hospital gate, followed the emergency department instructions, and drove straight in.
The anxiety in the pharmacy is more disturbing than the cold air. The cries in the hospital are more sincere than the prayers in the church.
It was completely different from the emptiness and silence on the street. Patients and their families surrounded the emergency department late at night, and the hospital halls, corridors and corners were all occupied. It’s noisy and tense, leaving people with “no where to start”.
The stretcher was pushed off the ambulance and passed through the crowd in the hall, which was a little difficult. Facing the questioning of the medical staff at the triage table, the 80-year-old man lying on the hospital bed was short of breath, "I just took a test, it's 39 degrees Celsius, and I've taken an ibuprofen at home." Looking around, 90% of the people in the hospital lobby are old people, hanging oxygen bottles . Some are sitting in wheelchairs, and some are lying on their sides on stretchers on the floor. Internal medicine, surgery, gynecology and other departments have all been called.
(Picture note: December 26, 2022, Beijing Hospital Emergency Department Hall)
In those days, intensive obituaries continued to come from Peking University , Tsinghua , Chinese Academy of Engineering and other units. The news of "the loss of 13 academicians in 5 days" made every Chinese person extremely sad. We are constantly hearing news about elderly people passing away and funeral parlors being "lined up".
For a time, the safety of the elderly has become the most worrying concern for every child, and even for people across the country.
At the entrance of the fever clinic, a couple over sixty years old had just arrived at Beijing Hospital from Hepingli Hospital. "I heard that there is medicine (Pfizer COVID-19 oral medicine) for sale here." On the other end of the phone, my son and daughter in a foreign land were asking about symptoms. The old man held the report sheet and muttered helplessly, "I took a CT scan and it turned out to be clear. It has turned into new coronavirus pneumonia ."
There is a fixed clinic table, mobile medical staff, and the hall is filled with the sound of doctors calling the patient's name. There was a long queue waiting in front of the consultation desk. Some people felt so uncomfortable waiting that they fell to the ground with a thud and couldn't stop calling for a doctor.
A man in his 70s who had just finished his intravenous drip was unable to push his wheelchair out because of the crowds. He had to stand up shakily and walked forward with the support of his relatives, crossing dozens of meters of people.
In the emergency room, medical staff were coming in and out. "I wish I could break myself into several people to use. There is no other way." The tense rhythm has been going on for many days, and the medical staff has almost no rest.
On this day, the director of the Emergency Medicine Department of the People's Liberation Army General Hospital said in an interview that the hospital's emergency volume continued to run at a high level, with critical, urgent, and serious patients as high as 50%.
On December 27, the Beijing Municipal Health Commission and the Medical Insurance Bureau jointly issued the "Notice on Further Improving the Capacity of Severe Treatment Services", requiring hospitals to collect all the critically ill patients transferred in 120 and not refuse treatment.
At about three o'clock that afternoon, the situation in the internal medicine department at the Yizhuang Town Community Health Service Center, located 100 meters south of the Yizhuang Town Government in Daxing District, Beijing, was equally anxious.
A 70-year-old man who went to Beijing Hospital with his family early in the morning because "there were too many people and there was nothing he could do" turned to this community hospital near his home in the afternoon.
"There are too many people, mainly at the peak period, especially the elderly." At the triage station of the community hospital, the medical staff was telling a young lady that there was no big problem, and called on "young people can be cared for at home and do not need to go to the hospital. When they come to the hospital, they will just prescribe some medicine, such as ibuprofen." "There are too many people in the infectious disease department now, and the queues can take at least two hours."
The same situation exists at Tongren Hospital, which is less than 5 kilometers away from the Yizhuang Town Community Health Service Center.
"Can you wait?" "What's wrong with you?" "Now you have to wait 4 hours if you go to the internal medicine department. This is the case in all hospitals."
In front of the triage table of Tongren Hospital, medical staff repeated these words frequently, and there were constant calls for consultations and inquiries. The movements of his hands did not stop, and he kept registering and testing blood pressure and blood oxygen of patients coming and going.
"Everyone is spinning around, and the doctor can only lay the floor in the emergency room. Not to mention eating or going to the toilet, there is no time to even raise his head." A medical staff said: "But as long as you can save your life from the king of hell, it is worth it."
A sense of security
December 27 On this day, the Beijing Municipal Health Commission and the Medical Insurance Bureau simultaneously issued another requirement: "Organize the distribution of blood oxygen clips to high-risk groups such as the elderly, self-test blood oxygen at home, and clarify concise monitoring and early warning standards."
Although there were certain expectations, the skyrocketing demand for oximeter , oxygen concentrator and other equipment surprised Kang Kai, founder and CEO of Grapefruit Health, and sales quickly climbed to about 400%.
What followed was that the inventory was gone in "seconds". With many years of experience in the medical industry, Kang Kai and his team are familiar with various channels. They formed a "Group of Galaxy Shopping Heroes", and the eight immortals crossed the sea, each showing their magical powers. On the one hand, they collected and sorted out the needs of customers, and on the other hand, they communicated about the supply of goods.
The most profound impact on Kangkai was that during the period of poor logistics, some patients drove dozens of kilometers to pick up grapefruit at Daxing warehouse. After all, for families with elderly people suffering from underlying diseases, oxygen concentrators were one of the important sources of security at that time.
What continues to give people a sense of security are pharmaceutical companies across the country that work 24 hours a day.
In front of the Yuekang Pharmaceutical Park in Beijing's Yizhuang Development Zone, large trucks transporting supplies and raw materials are in an endless stream. The machines in the production workshop are roaring and the lights are brightly lit.
Along with the high-speed operation of the production line, batches of anti-epidemic products such as vitamin C chewable tablets, compound paracetamol capsules, isatis granules are rapidly produced and brought to the market.
"The production capacity of all workshops in the park is fully reached, and the daily production capacity has reached 2 to 3 times the usual level." The person in charge of production of Yuekang Pharmaceutical Group said that since December 10, the Beijing Municipal Food and Drug Administration has also stationed personnel around the clock at epidemic prevention and control drug manufacturers. While supervising and ensuring the supply of medicines, we continue to assist in solving a series of problems such as shortages of raw materials based on corporate needs.
Northern , far away in the cold Harbin, at 4 o'clock in the morning, when people are still sleeping, Many employees of Harbin Pharmaceutical Group have already entered into the production of ibuprofen granules, Shuanghuanglian oral liquid and other drugs.
In the warm Guangzhou in the south, Xiangxue Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. has expanded two production lines to increase production capacity. The workshop has started "three shifts" 24-hour overtime production, and continues to increase the supply and procurement of medicinal materials, packaging materials, etc. Even the quality department is sending more inspection personnel to work overtime to ensure that production is increased without reducing quality.
"Compared with doctors and pharmacies, we may be the farthest link from patients, but when I think about the medicines produced during this period, they will be quickly delivered to patients in urgent need. For the first time, I feel very close to them." A front-line production worker of a pharmaceutical company said.
A cup of hot milk tea
Although words such as "out of stock" and "we have to wait" have been said countless times, many pharmacy staff are pleased that Beijing has slowly recovered recently. Some pharmacies with more advantages in the supply chain are also slowly returning to normal.
The person in charge of the Shaoyaoju Store of Gaoji Baikang Pharmacy said: "Now there are eight of us in one store, responsible for the entire process of product storage, sorting, shelving, and sales, etc., and we insist on opening 24 hours a day."
After saying that, the person in charge also took out his mobile phone, and with some pride introduced the "online mutual aid platform" applet of Gaoji Medical and Tencent to the E-pharmacy manager. It is understood that through this small innovation, Gaoji Medical has provided 470,000 doses of free medicine to users in many cities across the country, solving the urgent needs of many families.
The classic medicines for treating fever, sore throat, cough, etc. displayed in Jingdong Pharmacy have also relatively returned to normal supply status. The staff said that in the past two days, the situation of purchasing goods at any time has basically been restored to ensure that there is no shortage of goods. But what is more special is the shortage of antipyretics for children under 12 years old. When the E drug manager reporter asked about the drug, the clerk also had more time to introduce the pharmacology and side effects in detail.
Regarding the upcoming Spring Festival holiday, JD Health staff said that they have begun to coordinate upstream and downstream supply chain resources, formulate Spring Festival emergency plans to ensure supply warehouses, and monitor sales data in real time to ensure that consumers can purchase the drugs they need at normal prices.
Just the day before yesterday, the Beijing Municipal Health Commission released another document. But this time it has nothing to do with treatment, but expert guidance on health management for people during their recovery period.
On the day of the winter solstice, many people shared on WeChat Moments that traffic was blocked again on some roads in Beijing. It was around 9 o'clock that night and it was extremely cold. Zhang Yan delivered the order to the user as usual. After delivering the medicine to the door, he was about to hang up the phone and leave, but the user asked him to wait anyway.
"I thought he was in an emergency and needed help. After he came out, he put a cup of hot milk tea and bread into my hand and said that it is not easy for you to run outside in the cold weather. Thank you for helping me bring the medicine." Zhang Yan said, "At that moment, I felt really warm. The customers also understood us."
Believe in the future together
In the cold and warmth, you and Zhang Yan have walked through the entire 2022 together. We are increasingly convinced that we are in the midst of a major change that has not been seen in a century. We are also increasingly aware of how lucky and luxurious ordinary people are to be able to stay away from history and live peacefully in the years.
But there must always be someone who carries the burden forward for the "luck" and "luxury" of more people.
On the last day of 2022, the director of the respiratory department of a tertiary hospital in central China saw more than 50 patients in the morning, and more than 30 of them were seriously ill and required hospitalization. For several days in a row, hundreds of beds in this hospital were fully occupied.
Yes, the story of Beijing is just a microcosm. Similar things are happening everywhere. In the past two days, you and I have also seen the very thoughtful New Year's speeches from media across the country.
We believe that every speech attempts to completely record this period of history, but history must be left to future generations to write. We further believe that future generations will give enthusiastic, objective and fair evaluations of the countless explorations, losses, failures and successes in 2022.
But this time, we are not anxiously waiting for their evaluation. We just want to join you in front of the screen to pay tribute to every medical person who showed their conscience this year, and to say "farewell" to the ups and downs of 2022!
Let the wheels of the historical train crush the sorrow, pain and despair of the past year. The cabin is full of gains, glory and dreams, heading towards the first ray of dawn in 2023, heading towards the distance that you and I hope for together.
In the new year, E-pharmaceutical managers hope to continue to work with you and believe more firmly in the future. Believe in indomitable efforts and believe in the light that illuminates the way forward.
Believe in the future and love life!
(At the request of the interviewee, Zhang Yan is a pseudonym in the article.)
Please stay tuned and it will be released on January 1 [15 industry leaders from Kelon, WuXi, Ascentage, and Sequoia sent a New Year's letter about "spring"], including Liu Gexin, chairman of Kelun Pharmaceutical , Nuo Fifteen big names in the pharmaceutical industry will make predictions for 2023, including Cui Jisong, chairman and CEO of Chengjianhua, Yang Dajun, chairman and CEO of Ascentage Pharma, Yang Yunxia, partner of Sequoia China, Xie Yijing, co-founder of Huaxing Capital, Yu Wenxin, chief analyst of the pharmaceutical industry of Haitong Securities, Zhu Guoguang, chief pharmaceutical industry chief of Soochow Securities, Chen Zhisheng, CEO of WuXi Biologics, and Zhang Xiaodong, founder and CEO of Magnesium Health.
