"Don't wait for foreign countries to be immune, China will be in danger instead"

Academician Zhong Nanshan called on the public to get vaccinated against the new coronavirus in an interview with the media: Don't wait until foreign countries are immune, otherwise China will be in danger. China's good control is to buy time for vaccination.

Zhong Nanshan is interviewed (Photo from Phoenix.com)

On March 30, Phoenix.com's "Lixing Observation" broadcast an exclusive interview with Zhong Nanshan. Zhong Nanshan said that although China's absolute number of vaccinations is second in the world (the United States has the most), if it is calculated by percentage, China is very low: China is currently only 4 percentage points. Of course, China is now vigorously expanding production. Therefore, it is expected that by the end of June or July, 40% of the people will be able to be vaccinated. Only by vaccination can we get better protection.

Zhong Nanshan pointed out that according to the current situation, it would be very dangerous for China to open up completely. Because the vast majority of people in China are not immune, that is, once they are exposed to the virus, they will get sick immediately. However, many people in China are not so urgent at present. Why? (Because) China's environment is too good, there is no virus nearby. However, there is a premise that we have very strict control over international (overseas) imports, and China cannot be like this forever; China's reform and opening up must be open to the world. By that time, all countries have been vaccinated very well, but China is not immune, which is very dangerous, and it may break out again in China.

Zhong Nanshan (Photo from Phoenix.com)

Zhong Nanshan emphasized that now is a gap, and we have controlled it well in order to buy time to vaccinate. So the vaccine still needs to be accelerated. Now the country is making great efforts to increase the production of vaccine plants at the fastest speed. It is estimated that at this rate, about 20 to 30 billion vaccines will be produced by the end of this year. China's situation is not the so-called "vaccine nationalism". On the one hand, China vaccinates itself, and on the other hand, it supplies to the outside world relatively early. It is estimated that one-third of the supply is abroad, which is also to fulfill our commitment to developing countries.

Experts: We hope to achieve a vaccination rate of 70%-80% and basically achieve herd immunity

Wang Huaqing, chief expert of the immunization program at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said on March 15 that the establishment of herd immunity is closely related to the protective efficacy of vaccines and the vaccination rate of the population. To eradicate smallpox, the immunity of the population must reach about 85%, that is, 85% of the people are immune to smallpox; for measles, which is more contagious, 95% of the population must be immune to block the disease.

Regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, if we want to restore our study, work and life to normal, we must also form an immune barrier through COVID-19 vaccination. Compared with the experience of smallpox and measles, the 64.98 million people who have been vaccinated in my country (as of March 14) is a good start, but there is still a lot of room for immunity to be formed.

Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, also expressed the hope that by the beginning of 2022 or even the end of this year, China will be able to achieve a 70%-80% COVID-19 vaccination rate and basically achieve herd immunity. "How much vaccine is effective depends on the characteristics of the virus itself. We now estimate it to be 70% to 80% based on the basic transmission index of the new coronavirus," Gao Fu said. "Vaccination is a very complex and comprehensive process. Everyone is working hard. I hope that saying 'early next year' is wrong. I hope we can achieve it by the end of this year. This statement itself is also a hope to promote and accelerate this process."

According to the national COVID-19 vaccination situation released by the National Health Commission, as of March 29, 2021, a total of 110.962 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been reported to have been administered in various regions.

Source: CCTV News compiled from Hunan Second Affiliated Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changsha Evening News, @Xiaoxiang Video