Comment | Face the new situation rationally and be the first person responsible for your own health

In the face of the new epidemic situation, the most important thing for everyone is to be the "first person responsible" for their own health, look at the changes in the virus and the development of the epidemic scientifically and rationally, and then take correct response measures.

Written by Luo Zhongyun (Commentator of this newspaper)

Editor/Ji Jingjing

New Media Editor/Lv Bingxin

Not long ago, the State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism for COVID-19 issued the "Notice on Further Optimizing and Implementing COVID-19 Prevention and Control Measures", which introduced a series of optimization measures. These are major policy adjustments made in accordance with the current reality based on the new characteristics of virus transmission and pathogenicity, and the need to coordinate epidemic prevention and control with economic development. With the release of this notice, various regions have also successively launched a series of supporting implementation policies.

In Beijing, the ten newly issued measures to optimize epidemic prevention and control, in addition to the continued improvement of nucleic acid testing measures, also proposed that "positive infected people should be scientifically classified and treated, asymptomatic infected people and mild cases who meet the conditions for home isolation are generally isolated at home, and can also voluntarily choose centralized isolation and treatment". In addition, Beijing has also promptly released to the public the information of fever clinics, telephone numbers and medical institutions that treat children with fever in all districts of the city to facilitate people to inquire about medical treatment.

In the face of the epidemic, the government and other relevant departments or institutions still have a lot of work to do. But at present, the most important thing for everyone is to be the "first person responsible" for their own health, look at the changes in the virus and the development of the epidemic in a scientific and rational way, and then take the right response measures.

For example, when facing a large number of "positive" cases around us, we should neither ignore it nor worry about it all day long, nor be afraid of getting sick even if we are not sick. The scientific approach is to take active precautions, wear a mask when going out, try not to go to crowded places, wash hands frequently, and disinfect frequently. Delay the infection time as much as possible and miss the peak period of "positive", which will buy some preparation time for society and others, as well as for yourself.

In fact, when a wave of epidemic peaks, there is often a rush to buy medical supplies, including drugs, and many therapeutic drugs may be in short supply. In hospitals, due to the large number of patients gathering in a short period of time, there may be a certain degree of medical resource run, which will objectively have a certain impact on the treatment of patients. In this regard, government management departments certainly need to take targeted measures to deal with it, but for individuals, if they can avoid being infected during this period and postpone the "positive" time to the normal period, treatment will undoubtedly be more guaranteed.

The elderly, including the disabled or semi-disabled elderly, are the ones who need to be protected. The top priority is to increase the vaccination rate as soon as possible. Those who have no contraindications should be vaccinated as soon as possible, and those who meet the conditions should also get the booster shot. my country currently recommends two booster vaccination strategies: one is homologous booster vaccination, that is, using the same vaccine as the original basic immunization to complete the booster vaccination; the other is sequential immunization booster vaccination, that is, using a vaccine with a different technology route from the original basic immunization to complete the booster vaccination.

Some people who have not been vaccinated and still have negative test results see that many positive patients around them have been vaccinated, so they think that vaccines are useless. This is obviously a wrong understanding. Many studies have shown that as long as it is a vaccine approved for marketing in my country, no matter which one, it can effectively reduce the risk of severe illness and death.

For those who are already "positive", the most important thing is to keep a calm mind, do a good job of self-isolation and self-care. When you are asymptomatic, you can do what you should do at home, but you should also be careful to avoid going out to avoid spreading the virus to your neighbors. Daily garbage should also be sorted and processed, especially the used waste for virus testing should be stored and sealed in special garbage bags, and then placed in the corresponding trash can. If there are symptoms, you need to take symptomatic medication according to the instructions or the doctor's guidance. Do not take multiple drugs mixed because of eagerness for treatment, which may cause greater damage to liver and kidney function. If the symptoms are severe or cause acute attacks of other diseases, you should go to the hospital for treatment in time.

At present, many netizens who have "positive" have shared their experiences or feelings of the disease on social platforms, and recommended their own medication experience. Some people also strongly recommend various folk remedies. In the face of these, we must be particularly cautious, because everyone's symptoms, physical constitution, and drug allergies are different. "What is suitable for one person may not be suitable for another person." Therefore, it is best to follow the advice of professional doctors on how to use medication.

At present, relevant national departments are also vigorously promoting relevant popular science work, and major media platforms also have many popular science articles, including Beijing Science and Technology News and other professional science and technology media have also edited and produced a series of expert Q&A popular science videos, which have played a good guiding role in helping people to correctly respond to the epidemic and scientifically treat it. I believe that through everyone's participation, understanding, and cooperation, and the unity, direction, and progress of the whole society, people will be able to get out of the shadow of the epidemic as soon as possible.