China’s indigenous vaccines have proved to be less effective. Scientists have said that whatever protection the Chinese vaccines provide is likely to weaken further with the emergence of the omicron form of the corona virus.
Image Credit source: PTI
A top official of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the UN agency is happy to see that China is relaxing some restrictions related to the corona virus. He said that it is really important that the government is listening to its people when they are in trouble. WHO Emergency Services Director Dr. Michael Ryan said in a press conference on Friday that his organization is pleased to see that China is harmonizing its current strategy regarding COVID-19.
Large-scale protests took place in many cities of China last week against the strict restrictions related to COVID-19. It was the biggest protest against the ruling Communist Party in decades. Ryan said that anti-covid vaccines based on RNA messenger, manufactured by companies like Bio Entech, Pfizer and Moderna, could prove to be a strong option for China to promote vaccination.
COVID vaccination of the elderly in China is less
China’s indigenous vaccines have proved to be less effective. Scientists have said that whatever protection the Chinese vaccines provide is likely to weaken further with the emergence of the omicron form of the corona virus. According to China’s National Health Commission, only 66 percent of people over the age of 80 in the country have been vaccinated with the anti-Covid-19 vaccine, while only 40 percent of people in this age group have been given a booster dose.
At the same time, China showed strictness in implementing the restrictions. The massive government spending to quell dissent was on display as the fiercest street protests in decades broke out in Beijing and other cities against draconian and seemingly unending restrictions to combat COVID-19. The government has been preparing for such challenges for decades, setting up the necessary machinery to quell the upheaval.
China used pepper spray and tear gas on protesters
After initially reacting mildly using pepper spray and tear gas, police and paramilitary forces demonstrated a massive show of force with jeeps, vans and armored vehicles lining the city’s streets. As well as checking people’s IDs, authorities also searched people’s mobile phones for photos, messages or banned apps to identify dissidents, which could lead to participation in protests or even mere sympathies to such people. can be identified.
An unknown number of people were detained and it is unclear whether any of them will face charges. Most of the protesters focused their anger on the zero-Covid policy, which seeks to eliminate infections through widespread lockdowns, travel restrictions and constant testing, but some called on the party and President Xi Jinping to step down, which the ruling The party considers it appropriate to punish subversives and prison sentences for years.
Massive spending and an extensive internal security network make China well-positioned to crack down on dissent. It also suggests that the real situation in the country is far more volatile than what China’s leadership wants to project to the world, Dean Cheng, a China politics expert at the Heritage Foundation, wrote on the website of the Washington, DC-based conservative think tank.
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