The State Council’s Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism held a press conference in Beijing on October 13 to introduce the relevant situation of scientific and accurate epidemic prevention and control.
Host
Spokesperson of the National Health Commission and Deputy Director of the Publicity Department Mi Feng
Dear media friends, good afternoon everyone! Welcome to the press conference held by the State Council’s Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism.
At present, the global epidemic is still operating at a high level. my country's local clustered epidemics are characterized by many points, wide range and frequent occurrence, and the prevention and control situation is still severe and complex.
must unswervingly adhere to the general strategy of "preventing imports from outside and preventing rebound from inside" and the general policy of "dynamic zeroing", strictly follow the ninth edition of the prevention and control plan and the requirements of the "nine prohibitions", implement the "four-party responsibilities" of local, departments, units and individuals, and use fast to control and speed to block the spread of the epidemic, firmly maintain the bottom line of preventing large-scale epidemics, and minimize the impact of the epidemic on economic and social development.
We must resolutely rectify the "increase in every layer", care for the people affected by the epidemic, and effectively guarantee their lives and medical needs.
must always take personal protection, comply with epidemic prevention requirements, and actively receive new coronavirus vaccine .
The theme of today's press conference is: Scientific and accurate in epidemic prevention and control. We invited: Mr. Lei Zhenglong, Director of the Department of Communication and Prevention of the State Administration of Disease Control and Prevention and First-level Inspector; Mr. Liang Wannian, Head of the Expert Group of the Leading Group of the National Health Commission’s Epidemic Response and Disposal Work; Mr. Wu Zunyou, Chief Epidemic of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and Mr. Dong Xiaoping, Chief Epidemic of , and asked them to answer questions from the media on issues that everyone is concerned about.
. Please raise your hand to ask a question. Please inform your news organization before asking questions.
CCTV Reporter CCTV Reporter Recently, we have seen that Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and other places have reported more positive infections, and at the same time, Sichuan and Gansu are also showing a high-level development trend. From a national perspective, what is the development trend of the epidemic in my country?
Director of the Department of Defense of the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention and First-level Inspector Lei Zhenglong
Thank you for your question. Recently, my country continues to face the dual risks of imported epidemics from abroad and spread of local epidemics, and the epidemic situation in some areas has rebounded. The epidemic situation in Xinjiang has been repeated, but it is generally controllable. The epidemic situation in Inner Mongolia has improved significantly and the number of cases has dropped significantly. The epidemic situation in Sichuan, Gansu, Shanxi and other places has been gradually controlled. The epidemic situation in Ningxia and Tibet is stable and improving, and the epidemic situation in other provinces has spread at multiple points. At present, the national epidemic situation is severe and complex, showing the characteristics of "many points, wide areas, and frequent occurrence". The risk of local clustered epidemics still exists, but it is generally controllable.
National Health Commission and National Disease Control and Prevention Bureau strengthen overall coordination and scheduling, guide local governments to implement epidemic prevention and control measures around the National Day, and send working groups to strengthen epidemic prevention and control forces in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Yunnan, Shanxi, Tibet and other places. All localities should strengthen the "four-party responsibilities", seek truth from facts, report and publish epidemic data in a timely and objective manner, continue to strengthen epidemic prevention and control and response work, and resolutely defend the bottom line of preventing large-scale epidemics.
People's Daily Reporter Judging from the situation announced in various places, the common characteristics of viruses are fast transmission, but the infected people are mainly mild and asymptomatic. From the perspective of the people, everyone generally believes that the virus is so mild, why can't it "coexist" with the virus, and why do you put a lot of effort into insisting on " dynamically clearing "? Thank you.
Head of the Expert Group of the Leading Group of the National Health Commission’s Epidemic Response and Disposal Work, Liang Wannian
Thank you for your question. First of all, I will introduce the concept of "dynamic clearance" and its most critical elements. The "dynamic zeroing" implemented by the Chinese government is determined by the anti-epidemic concept of "people first, life first". First, the country’s anti-epidemic policy and anti-epidemic strategy are proposed based on the anti-epidemic concept. This is a special point.Second, based on the current understanding of the characteristics of the virus, especially the direction of its mutation, the harmful changes after mutation, including the understanding of this disease, we do not have the ability to completely eliminate the virus, nor do we have the ability to ensure that there will be no sporadic cases. Therefore, "dynamic zeroing" is our country's overall policy to fight the epidemic. The core of this general policy is to block the epidemic, rather than eliminating the virus, nor is it not to allow a single case. The core of blocking the epidemic is to quickly discover and extinguish it quickly, and to extinguish it together. Simply put, the core of "dynamic clearance" is to block the continuous community transmission of the epidemic and prevent the epidemic from forming a large-scale epidemic or rebounding of a large-scale epidemic. If "dynamic zeroing" is achieved, there are two most important keywords: one is to quickly, quickly discover and deal with it quickly; the other is to accurately identify the epidemic, accurately define the scope of the epidemic area, accurately conduct epidemiological investigations, accurately conduct , accurately determine and manage in close contacts, and accurately conduct clinical treatment, and ultimately accurately balance epidemic prevention and control and social and economic development. This is the first explanation of some concepts and core connotations of "dynamic clearance".
Second, there are two different perspectives to measure the harm of an epidemic. The internationally common perspective of public health is to measure it from the perspective of the group, using indicators such as mortality and excess mortality, rather than from the perspective of case mortality and individual. For Omickron mutant strain , its mortality rate is indeed declining compared with previous mutant strains and original strains, but because it spreads quickly, spreads more hidden, and immune escape is gradually increasing, the overall incidence rate is high, which means that there will be a large number of infections in the population. Multiply the number of infections by individual mortality rate, the number of deaths will be relatively large, and the group mortality rate will be higher than influenza , and no lower than the original and other mutant strains. It can be seen that its harm to humans has not decreased significantly overall. This is an important indicator for World Health Organization and various countries to judge its harm.
In addition, the excess mortality rate, which means that after the emergence of this disease, it will not only affect the severe illness and death of these patients infected with this disease, but may lead to a run of medical resources. Once medical resources are run, they will affect the demand for other normal medical services, which may lead to some unnecessary deaths under normal conditions. Scientifically, measuring this additional death caused by the impact of the epidemic can be called "excess death". Calculation method: Compared with the total number of deaths this year and the total number of deaths in this country and region last year or the previous three years, how many more people died? If there are no other explainable factors, it will be attributed to the excess death caused by the epidemic. Judging from the current situation, the excess death caused by the new crown pneumonia epidemic is relatively high, whether it is the original or the previous mutant strain, especially the Omickron mutant strain, which is more than 100 parts per 100,000 after research.
Third, the total population of our country is large, the proportion of the elderly is high, with an elderly population of 267 million, which is a very large base. At the same time, there are a large number of patients with underlying diseases. These people are high-risk groups for infection with the new coronavirus. The probability of getting severe illness or even dying after infection is higher than that of the general population. Coupled with the effect of prevention and control in the past period, the overall infection rate of the new coronavirus in my country is low, and the natural immunity obtained is not strong. Although we have obtained a certain amount of immunity through immunization, the escape of the new mutant strain to this immunity is strengthening. Therefore, if we relax and do not "dynamic zero", it will inevitably cause a large number of infections, leading to the elderly and people with underlying diseases, which may cause a large number of severe illnesses and even a large number of deaths. This large number of severe illnesses and large amounts of death cannot be tolerated, so we must try our best to protect ourselves.
Fourth, now scientifically, in what direction does the mutation of the new coronavirus change in the future? After the mutation, its virulence, pathogenicity, and harm still cannot be fully grasped. But there is one thing that the scientific community is sure of, this virus will always change, and changing is its normal state.In addition, the Omickron mutant strain is definitely not the last mutant strain of the new coronavirus, and there is great uncertainty. In this case, we adhere to the existing prevention and control strategies and adhere to the overall policy of "dynamic zeroing". Our prevention and control in the past three years has proved to be effective, feasible, and scientific. Therefore, in the face of these uncertainties, we should use deterministic strategies and deterministic policies to fight this uncertainty.
Fifth, we must consider the long-term harm of this disease. Now internationally, scientists from all over the world are very concerned about and worried about the sequelae after infection with new coronavirus . Studies have shown that a certain proportion of infected people will experience various sequelae such as fatigue, dyspnea , and neurocognitive disorders. They do not fully understand the pathogenic mechanism and final duration of this condition. Unlike general influenza and known diseases, they are scientifically clear about its sequelae and related conditions. The new coronavirus is still very unknown.
Based on the above considerations, it is necessary for China to adhere to the overall policy of "dynamic clearance". Thanks.
China Central Radio and Television Station Financial Program Center reporter At the previous joint prevention and control press conference, a series of prevention and control policies and measures were introduced around the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, and it was also clarified that the time was from September 10 to October 31, 2022. This time is coming soon. Will these prevention and control measures be continued in the future? Thank you.
Director of the Department of Defense of the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention, First-level Inspector Lei Zhenglong
Thank you for your question. The mobility of people has increased during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, and the risk of epidemic transmission is high. On the basis of deploying the full implementation of the ninth edition of the prevention and control plan, the State Council’s joint prevention and control mechanism has strengthened a series of prevention and control policies and measures, such as advocating safe and orderly travel of the general public, promoting on-site inspections, checking for effective nucleic acid test negative certificates in key places and institutions, and reducing unnecessary gatherings. We will organize an assessment of the role of these measures in detecting and controlling the epidemic as soon as possible and preventing a large-scale rebound in the epidemic. In the next step, on the premise of adhering to the overall policy of "dynamic zeroing", on the basis of evaluating the effectiveness of the measures, combined with factors such as domestic and international epidemic prevention and control situations and virus mutations, we will continue to improve and optimize epidemic prevention and control policies, and coordinate epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development. Thanks.
Economic Observer reporter The global COVID-19 epidemic has spread to its third year, and many countries have been forced to ease. Once other countries have relaxed, will we become a depression in the epidemic and be flooded and forced to ease? Thank you.
Chief Epidemiology Expert of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Wu Zunyou
"Dynamic Zero" is the general principle for controlling acute infectious diseases and the general policy for the prevention and control of the new crown. In the past three years, more than 300 local epidemics caused by imported cases from abroad have occurred in my country, and these epidemics have been well controlled. Practice has proved that the overall policy of "dynamic zeroing" is scientific, the prevention and control effect is significant, and it is in line with China's actual situation. At present, we must persist unswervingly.
The epidemic spreads from high-end areas to low-end areas, just like water flowing from high-end to low-end areas, which is a natural law for the spread of infectious diseases. After the epidemic in Wuhan was controlled, my country has experienced a local epidemic caused by imported cases from abroad, so my country has determined the overall epidemic prevention and control strategy of "preventing imported cases from abroad and preventing rebound from within". Practice has proved that my country's overall strategy for the prevention and control of the new crown is scientific and effective. Thanks.
Xinhua News Agency reporter We noticed that although some foreign countries have a lot of new cases every day, they have still abolished relevant epidemic prevention policies, and people's lives do not seem to be affected much. Some even declare that the new crown epidemic has ended. So why can't we "live" like abroad?
Head of the Expert Group of the Leading Group of the National Health Commission's Epidemic Response and Disposal Work Liang Wannian
Thank you for your question. From a global perspective, we analyzed that the current prevention and control strategies of most countries have indeed shifted from the previous prevention of infection to focusing on preventing severe illness, death and preventing runs of medical resources.The general approach is as follows: First, many countries have generally relaxed or lifted entry restrictions; second, some countries have relaxed or even lifted social restrictions in their home countries; third, some countries no longer implement mandatory centralized isolation measures, and some countries do not actively detect infected people and related close contacts through nucleic acid testing for . But overall, most countries around the world still strengthen necessary personal protection measures, such as wearing masks, maintaining social distance, and strengthening vaccination. There are many reasons for these choices, some strategies, optimization and adjustment of measures, one is based on the prevention and control concepts of various countries, one is based on the prevention and control capabilities and conditions, and the other is based on whether there are relevant mechanisms for the rapid spread of the Omickron mutant strain, organizational guarantees and mobilization capabilities, etc. So I personally feel that some of them may have made some passive adjustments. For example, judging from the relaxation and adjustments of some countries in the United States and Japan, the impact of the epidemic may be caused by several waves of impact, and even excess deaths may occur. Our country adheres to the general policy of "dynamic zeroing" and should emphasize that it is determined by our prevention and control concept "people first, life first", and it is also a concrete manifestation of adhering to "everything is for the health of the people, people-centered ". More importantly, our country now has the conditions for "dynamic clearance" and the ability to "dynamic clearance". Overall, our country is "clean", and our epidemic is mainly related to input. We should prevent input from outside. Even if there is input, we can still do it as long as we discover it quickly. Practice over the past three years has proved these, why can we do this? Because our country has strong organizational mobilization capabilities and institutional advantages, and the altruism and collectivism spirit of the Chinese people. We take advantage of the advantages of informatization and the corresponding prevention and control and treatment capabilities of China's health system. At the same time, our ability to ensure material security, coordinate economic and social development and epidemic prevention and control has been tempered and has a strong foundation. These are China's advantages. With these conditions and abilities, we should adhere to "dynamic zeroing", ultimately defeat the disease, and exchange the minimum loss of life and cost to achieve final victory.
If we say that we are completely learning from the so-called "lying flat" abroad, then the result will definitely be that the Chinese people will have a large number of infections, and a large number of infections will inevitably cause a large number of severe illnesses and a large number of deaths. This is incompatible with Chinese culture and our anti-epidemic philosophy. Thanks.
Pengpai News reporter We all know that the virus is constantly mutating now. Are the measures of our country's ninth version of the prevention and control plan still effective? Thank you.
Chief expert on virology of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Dong Xiaoping
Thank you for your question. Viral mutation is a natural phenomenon. First of all, we believe that there is no evidence or pressure to modify the prevention and control plan because of the continuous emergence of virus mutant strains. The ninth edition of the prevention and control plan has made detailed, scientific and highly operational requirements for all aspects of epidemic prevention and control, such as public health measures, including publicity and education, vaccination, patriotic health campaign, as well as epidemic monitoring, epidemic handling, laboratory testing, prevention and control of imported epidemics from abroad, and prevention and control of key links, etc. After several months of practice, it has been proved that the main technical means and measures can effectively respond to the epidemic caused by various Omickron mutant strains. Therefore, without the emergence of new large mutant strains, such as Delta and Omickron, there is no obvious change in pathogenic capacity, and there is no significant decline in the protective efficacy of existing vaccines, the current ninth version of the prevention and control plan can still be applied and can still meet my country's needs for the prevention and control of the new crown epidemic. Thanks.
Shanghai Oriental TV reporter Under the principle of adhering to the "dynamic zeroing", how can the epidemic prevention policy be more conducive to the resumption of work and production, minimize the impact on ordinary people as much as possible, how can we ensure efficiency and humanization, and better promote the smooth implementation of "dynamic zeroing"? Thank you.
Director of the Department of Defense of the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention, First-level Inspector Lei Zhenglong
Thank you for your question. I will answer this question from three aspects.
First, continuously improve the scientific and accurate level of epidemic prevention and control. All localities are required to speed up the precise work of flow investigation and . Epidemic prevention and control cannot be simplified, risk areas cannot be delineated on a large scale, and control cannot be replaced by "silence". Medium and high-risk areas should be delineated in a timely and accurate manner, resolute and decisive control measures should be taken promptly, and dynamic adjustments should be made according to changes in the epidemic situation. Those who meet the conditions for unblocking should be unblocked in a timely manner to facilitate people's lives and travel. Schools, catering and other units outside the risk areas should strengthen epidemic monitoring, resolutely avoid "stop it" and minimize the impact of the epidemic on economic and social development.
The second is to reduce the impact of epidemic prevention and control on the people. When handling the epidemic, it is required that scientific and precise control should be emphasized, and warmth should be paid attention to, and the people should make every effort to ensure the supply of daily necessities and medical needs of the people during the epidemic. Comprehensively coordinate the community's social organizations, owners' committee , property service companies, volunteer service personnel and other forces to ensure that the guarantee is in place, the service is in place, and the warmth is in place. At the same time, we call on the masses to enhance their legal awareness and strictly abide by laws, regulations and policies and measures.
The third is to strengthen guidance on epidemic prevention and control work in various places. Guide all localities to fully implement the various policies and measures of the ninth edition of the prevention and control plan, strengthen training and guidance for epidemic prevention and control policies and measures in various places, promote all localities to strictly implement epidemic prevention and control requirements, and strengthen epidemic prevention and control for key places, key groups, key industries, especially transportation, buses and truck drivers and passengers. We must not only prevent the epidemic, but also ensure the normal operation and development of the industry. Thanks.
Hong Kong Economic Herald reporter This year, many cities are implementing normalized nucleic acid testing, with the purpose of early detection and early prevention and control, and minimize the impact on people's lives as much as possible. How effective is it? We have noticed that even if normalized nucleic acid testing is implemented in some places, they will still adopt static management across the region. How do you view this phenomenon? Thank you.
Head of the Expert Group of the Leading Group of the National Health Commission’s Epidemic Response and Disposal Work, Liang Wannian
Thank you for your question. Because the key to preventing and controlling the new crown pneumonia epidemic is to achieve the "four early days", and one core is early detection. Nucleic acid testing is an important means of early detection, especially in determining infected people, it is a gold standard. International experience and practice have shown that the sensitivity and specificity of nucleic acid testing diagnosis are high, and they are used as the gold standard for diagnosis. Through the training of prevention and control practice in the past three years and the strengthening of our capabilities, China has already possessed strong nucleic acid testing capabilities. It is reflected in the fact that we can now have more than 100 million single-tube testing capabilities every day. That is to say, if it is a mixed test of 1:10, it can detect more than one billion people a day. This is an amazing ability. Second, from the perspective of layout, the accessibility of the 15-minute inspection circle in some big cities has been greatly improved. At the same time, practice has proved that it plays an important role in the early detection of some domestic epidemics, and many epidemics are discovered through normalized nucleic acid testing.
Director Lei Zhenglong has given some explanations about the static management issues raised just now. I would like to add that one of our goals for epidemic prevention and control is to obtain better results at a small cost as much as possible. In other words, our goal of prevention and control is to avoid static management across the entire domain as much as possible, rather than treat static management across the entire domain as a means and measure that we must take. In this case, how to avoid static management across the region as much as possible, we must first achieve the "four early" and strengthen the "four-party responsibilities" to truly make epidemic prevention and control early, small, practical and accurate, and work hard on these aspects. Of course, some characteristics of the Omickron mutant strain determine that it is difficult for us to fully realize rapid discovery as soon as an infection occurs. If the epidemic is discovered relatively late, especially the transmission chain of infected people is unclear and the areas involved are widespread, we should comprehensively judge the characteristics of the epidemic, prevention and control capabilities, and conditions to take corresponding measures.Some regions adopt static management of a certain range is also a means to control the epidemic as soon as possible, so we must try to avoid static management across the region. However, if necessary, implement static management of a certain range is also a means, but accurate judgment is required. "Quick seal, quick extinguish, quick inspection" is very important. Thanks.
Phoenix TV reporter Currently, many countries are forced to lie down. Judging from the confirmed cases and deaths in various countries, what is the actual situation? In addition, can you introduce the comparison of indicators such as the infection rate and mortality rate of new coronary pneumonia between my country and other countries around the world? Thank you.
Chief Epidemiology Expert of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Wu Zunyou
Thank you for your question. In the past three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone in the world has been affected to varying degrees. Judging from the two indicators of disease and death, compared with the fact that Chinese people are the least affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
We compare from two perspectives, one with the United States and the other with the world. As of October 10, the World Health Organization website announced that the United States has reported a total of 95,260,865 cases and 1,050,195 deaths.
China has reported a total of 254,066 confirmed cases, asymptomatic infections, 755,048, the total number of infections is 1009,114, and 5,226 deaths. The COVID-19 infection rate in China is 70 people per 100,000 population, which is 1/483 of that in the United States; the COVID-19 death rate in China is 0.4 deaths in China are 1/785 of that in the United States.
The proportion of China's population in the world is 18.32%, and the proportion of the number of new crown cases in the world is 0.16%. Calculated by the population of one million, the incidence rate is 1/112 of the world; the number of deaths accounts for 0.08% of the world; Calculated by the population of one million, the mortality rate is 1/229 of the world.
Whether it is comparing the epidemic prevention and control effects of the United States or the overall global epidemic prevention and control effects, China is an absolute top student. We have no reason to be unconfident and no reason to doubt our prevention and control strategies. Thanks.
China Youth Daily reporter The sub-branch of the Omickron variant strain BF.7 was detected in mainland my country for the first time. What changes have the pathogenicity and transmission power of the new strain compared with the previous one? Thank you.
Chief expert on virology of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Dong Xiaoping
Thank you for your question. First of all, virus mutation is a very common natural law, reflecting the reaction of viruses as a small and simple microorganism to external pressure, which is more fully manifested in the new coronavirus. Although the new coronavirus has only appeared for more than two years, its mutation rate has significantly accelerated when there are a large number of naturally infected people and a larger number of vaccinated people. The study found that since the emergence of Omickron in 2022, the virus's mutation rate has increased significantly, which is a natural phenomenon.
second, the so-called BF.7 sub-branch, is the abbreviation of BA.5.2.1.7, and is essentially an evolutionary branch of the Omickron BA.5 variant strain. Since the BF.7 sub-branch was detected in September, it has gradually become common in many countries and is a strain that accounts for a certain proportion. The global share increased from around 3.5% in late September to 11% in the previous week.
Third, the BF.7 sub-branch and other Omickron evolutionary branches were very similar to those when BA.2 and BA.5 first appeared. They both showed relatively strong transmission capabilities. However, whether BF.7 can become the global dominant strain in the next stage needs to be observed.
Fourth, the evolutionary branch of BF.7 has not changed significantly in terms of pathogenicity, that is, the pathogenicity has not been significantly enhanced. Thanks.
Cover News Reporter It is understood that in some areas, the phenomenon of increased epidemic prevention and control in low-risk areas has recently occurred, mainly manifested in centralized isolation, persuasion, etc. Is there any public complaint board of the "Nine Nosenses" public message board? How is the problem solved? How to better urge local governments to eliminate the behavior of increasing the amount and one-size-fits-all behavior? Thank you.
Director of the Department of Defense of the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention, First-level Inspector Lei Zhenglong
Thank you for your question.The situation you mentioned earlier that "restrictive measures such as mandatory persuasion and isolation for personnel from low-risk areas" were also received by the public on the official website of the National Health Commission's "Implementation of the 'Nine Prohibitions' Public Message Board for Epidemic Prevention and Control".
According to statistics, from October 1 to 12, the "Nine Nos" public message board reported by the public, the three items with a high proportion are: (item 2) It is not allowed to take restrictive measures such as forced repatriation and isolation for people from low-risk areas, accounting for 36.36%. (Item 1) The scope of restricted travel is not allowed to be expanded from medium and high-risk areas to other areas, accounting for 26.61%. (Item 4) The scope of risk personnel who take quarantine and control measures shall not be expanded at will, accounting for 17.39%.
The National Health Commission and the National Disease Control and Prevention attach great importance to the work of complaints from the masses. In the early stage, they formed a special working group for rectification of "increasing layers of weight" composed of multiple departments to specifically rectify problems such as simplification of epidemic prevention and control, one-size-fits-all, and intensifying layers of weight. In accordance with the working mechanism of rectification of "adding layer by layer", the special team will promptly transfer and supervise local governments to verify and deal with problems reported by the masses every day.
In the next stage, we will continue to adhere to problem-oriented approach, keep a close eye on the problems reported by the masses, and resolutely urge rectification if local governments violate the "nine prohibitions" and other epidemic prevention and control requirements. We must not only do a good job in epidemic prevention and control, but also serve the masses well and promptly solve the urgent, difficult and anxious problems of the masses. At the same time, we actively give full play to the role of the special team for rectification of "increasing the price at all levels", quickly transfer, verify the complaints held by the masses, strengthen follow-up supervision, strengthen the reporting and exposure of typical problems, and ensure that the "layer-level price" problem is resolved in a timely and appropriate manner. Thanks.
Daily Economic News reporter We have seen that the outbreak of the epidemic this year has had a certain impact on the social economy. How do you view this impact? Let’s calculate the cost-effectiveness of prevention and control? Thank you. Head of the Expert Group of the National Health Commission’s Leading Group for Epidemic Response and Disposal Work, Liang Wannian
Thank you for this question. Countries around the world will be affected by the epidemic, especially the impact of the epidemic on economic development, and no country is exceptional. One of the purposes of epidemic prevention and control is to avoid and alleviate the impact of the epidemic on economic development as much as possible. However, since the COVID-19 pandemic has lasted for nearly three years, this is rare in the history of human diseases, especially pandemic diseases. It lasts for such a long time, and the virus is repeatedly mutating and the speed of spreading is accelerating. The prevention and control measures of the epidemic will undergo corresponding changes and adjustments, and will inevitably have a certain impact on economic development. This is why, under our adherence to our overall strategy of "preventing imports from outside and rebound from inside" and adhering to the general policy of "dynamic zeroing", our country emphasizes the need for scientific prevention and control, prevention and control in accordance with the law, and precise prevention and control. The purpose is to minimize the epidemic and reduce the adverse impact of epidemic prevention and control measures on the economy and society through scientific, law and precise prevention and control.
Practice has proved that my country's prevention and control is scientific and effective, and is also the most cost-effective from a global comparison. It is leading the world in terms of prevention and control results and economic development, and it also effectively balances the relationship between epidemic prevention and control and economic development. There are actually different indicators to measure the effectiveness of prevention and control. If the effectiveness of prevention and control is measured from the perspective of cost-effectiveness, how to calculate the benefits? How to consider the costs? It is another important proposition. For example, when calculating benefits, how should we calculate? We should look at benefits from a dynamic perspective, and we should calculate the overall benefit account and the overall cost account. We consider benefits, not only economic gains and losses, but also health accounts, especially people's livelihood accounts and social accounts. We must use a dynamic perspective to calculate accounts, and simply put, large cost-effective accounts, because this is a pandemic disease faced by mankind and must be calculated from this perspective. From a public health perspective, in the face of the pandemic, protecting the interests of a larger scope, longer-term and larger population is the most cost-effective. Countries are working to balance this cost and benefit. In this case, the trade-offs should be made based on the culture, prevention and control concepts and conditions of each country. Thanks.
China News Service reporter Some places have been circulating for a long time, and many provinces are facing the prevention and control situation of Omickron epidemics in many cities and cities at the same time. In particular, community prevention and control is currently facing increasingly complex and tedious work. Under the current epidemic situation, have the focus and methods of community prevention and control changed? How can the grassroots level better improve the level of scientific epidemic prevention? Thank you.
Head of the Expert Group of the Leading Group of the National Health Commission’s Epidemic Response and Disposal Work, Liang Wannian
Thank you for this question. The long-term epidemic situation in some places is caused by various reasons. There are objective reasons caused by the characteristics of the Omickron mutant strain. It is not ruled out that a few places may have insufficient understanding of epidemic prevention and control, and may have a mentality of paralysis and slackness. To this end, it is very important to further unify your thinking, strictly implement the national prevention and control strategy and the general policy of "dynamic clearance", and strictly implement the ninth edition of the prevention and control plan.
The grassroots level is the first line of defense for epidemic prevention and control. It undertakes a number of prevention and control tasks, and also undertakes the task of maintaining normal production and life. It can be said to have played an important and irreplaceable role. In the fight against the new crown pneumonia epidemic, my country has formed successful experiences such as grid management at the grassroots level and coordinated anti-epidemic mechanisms. However, it is undeniable that there are still many shortcomings and deficiencies at the grassroots level, which is still a weak link in my country's epidemic prevention and control. In the next step, we should make strengthening the construction of grassroots prevention and control capabilities the top priority. At the same time, we should further strengthen the publicity, education and policy interpretation of grassroots people, make good preparations for relevant material reserves, and effectively improve the first line of defense for epidemic prevention and control and the capabilities of grassroots level, and build this line of defense more firmly. Thanks.
Southern Metropolis Daily reporter mentioned earlier that the new coronavirus may have some sequelae. What are the conclusions of the latest research on the sequelae of new coronavirus pneumonia at home and abroad? Thank you.
Chief Epidemiology Expert of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Wu Zunyou
Thank you for your question. The sequelae of the new coronavirus are also called long-term symptoms of the new coronavirus. The definition of clinical cases released by the World Health Organization in October 2021. The sequelae of new coronavirus usually occurs within 3 months after the onset of the new coronavirus infection. It can be that certain new symptoms appear after recovery from acute infection, or some symptoms persist during the original acute infection period, and the symptoms last for at least 2 months. These symptoms can occur repeatedly and cannot be explained by other diagnoses.
According to global research results, health problems with a wide range of health problems, including: fatigue or fatigue, thinking disorders or inability to concentrate, shortness of breath or difficulty, headache, dizziness, accelerated heartbeat, chest pain, cough , joint or muscle pain, depression or anxiety, fever, loss of smell or taste, etc. These symptoms can last for weeks, months, or even longer.
The sequelae of the new coronavirus is common in severe cases, but it can also occur in mild cases. Generally speaking, people who have been vaccinated have a much lower risk of sequelae after contracting the new crown than those who have not been vaccinated.
The best way to prevent the sequelae of the new coronavirus is to prevent the new coronavirus infection. Therefore, my country continues to adhere to the overall strategy of "preventing imports from outside and rebound from inside" and the general policy of "dynamic clearance" are not only an important strategic means to control the large-scale epidemic, but also an important method for us to prevent the new crown. Thanks.
Red Star News Reporter , what is the latest situation of COVID-19 vaccination in my country? Especially for the elderly over 60 years old, strengthening injections, etc., how are the progress of related vaccination? Thank you.
Director of the Department of Defense of the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention, First-level Inspector Lei Zhenglong
Thank you for your question. As of October 12, 2022, a total of 3.437.851 million doses of new coronavirus vaccine were reported nationwide, covering 1.33.43 million people, of which 1.271.711 million people have been completed, covering the entire vaccination, accounting for 92.45% and 90.2% of the total population of the country respectively. 87.832 million people have completed strengthening immunization.239.216 million people over 60 were vaccinated, and 227.865 million people were vaccinated. The number of people covered and the number of people vaccinated accounted for 90.6% and 86.3% of the total population aged 60, respectively. The number of people strengthened immunization was 177.568 million. Thanks.
Health News reporter is now entering autumn and winter, and the flu has also entered a high-incidence period. The experts just introduced that the new coronavirus is constantly mutating. How should we deal with it in the face of double overlap? Thank you.
Director of the Department of Defense of the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention, First-level Inspector Lei Zhenglong
Thank you for your question. Faced with the fact that some provinces in my country have begun to enter the influenza epidemic season and are higher than the same level since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, all regions need to strictly prevent the risk of superimposed epidemics such as influenza and the new crown pneumonia epidemic. In September this year, based on carefully summarizing the influenza prevention and control work in recent years, we made arrangements for the national influenza prevention and control work in accordance with the principles of early planning, scientific prevention and control, and comprehensive measures.
First, strengthen influenza monitoring work. Give full play to the role of influenza monitoring sentinel hospitals and network laboratories to strengthen influenza-like case monitoring reports. Local disease control departments are required to continue to strengthen monitoring of influenza activity intensity, viral gene and antigenic mutations, and the discovery of new influenza viruses, and provide scientific evidence for guiding precise prevention and control. The second is to provide and vaccinate influenza vaccines. Dynamically monitor the supply and use of influenza vaccines, and guide local governments to promote vaccination for key groups such as medical personnel, the elderly, children and patients with chronic diseases through reasonable setting of vaccination sites and organizing centralized vaccination. The third is to strengthen popular science publicity. In conjunction with the publicity department, we will continue to carry out comprehensive scientific knowledge publicity on influenza prevention and control in traditional media and new media, continuously improve the public's awareness of protection, actively get influenza vaccines, implement personal protection measures such as wearing masks, disinfecting hands, and maintaining social distance, and jointly prevent respiratory infectious diseases such as the new crown and influenza. Thanks.
Host, spokesperson of the National Health Commission and deputy director of the Publicity Department Mi Feng
Time relationship, finally ask two more questions.
Shenzhen TV direct news reporter How can the public take good protection against the new Omickron mutant strain? What tips or suggestions do experts give us? Thank you.
Chief expert on virology of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Dong Xiaoping
Thank you for your question. This issue can be considered from two aspects. On the one hand, specific prevention, in other words, vaccination, especially in high-risk groups, it is very important to strengthen the vaccination of injections. The protection of the new coronavirus vaccine for hospitalization, severe, critical and death of patients with COVID-19 has been widely confirmed. In addition to the characteristics of the virus itself, the Omickron variant has a weak pathogenicity, which is not unrelated to the fact that the Omickron has a higher proportion of the entire process and even strengthens vaccination during the epidemic. Second, it is important to emphasize that non-drug control measures must be implemented at this stage, in other words, routine personal hygiene and personal protection should be done to avoid gatherings. This measure is effective in any respiratory and digestive diseases, especially for the elderly and those with underlying diseases. These two must be achieved. Thanks.
Hong Kong China Review News Agency reporter Everyone is looking forward to the epidemic ending as soon as possible and return to normal production and life as soon as possible. How long will it take for us and what full preparations need to be done? Thank you.
Head of the Expert Group of the Leading Group of the National Health Commission’s Epidemic Response and Disposal Work, Liang Wannian
Thank you for this question. In fact, we all hope that the epidemic will end as soon as possible and return to a normal life like before 2019. Overall, our epidemic prevention and control has achieved phased results. We have seen the dawn of victory, but we have not yet reached the other side of victory. We must continue to work hard to do the corresponding prevention and control work. In the end, the epidemic will be completely over or we will completely overcome the epidemic. We need to comprehensively consider the variation of this virus, the infection spectrum of the disease, the changes in severity, and the resistance of the health system, including our prevention and control capabilities, treatment capabilities, and social public health intervention measures.We are now in this window period and there are several tasks that need to be done further.
First, we must strengthen our confidence and unify our thinking. It is very important to adhere to our overall strategy and policy. Seize this "window period" and persist again. Only when we persist will we win. Persistence will surely win. Confidence may be more important than gold. This is very important.
The second is what Professor Dong Xiaoping said just now. We must strengthen vaccination, especially vaccination for the elderly, to prevent severe illness and death.
The third is to strengthen the construction of prevention and control and treatment capabilities and corresponding preparations. For example, to prevent hospital resources from being run, how can we quickly control and supply some protective equipment under a large-scale epidemic?
Fourth, we should give full play to the role of science and technology, and we should increase efforts in the research and development, production and supply of more effective vaccines and more effective, accessible and easier to use drugs. Now we have seen some hope in medicine.
Fifth, make good preparations for corresponding materials, including the reserves of epidemic prevention and control materials, and also material reserves to ensure normal production and life.
Sixth, emphasizes speed and accuracy, emphasizes prevention of "one-size-fits-all" and prevents the phenomenon of "adding layer by layer".
If these are combined and we have firm confidence, we will definitely be able to ultimately overcome the epidemic.
Host, spokesperson of the National Health Commission and deputy director of the Publicity Department Mi Feng
Today's press conference introduced the situation of scientific and accurate epidemic prevention and control, and answered some questions that everyone is concerned about. Thank you again for your guests. We will continue to hold a press conference in the future. Everyone is welcome to continue to pay attention. Today's press conference ends here, thank you everyone!
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