I have a good friend from China, hanging with him last night he told me China is going back into lockdown. Streets of Shanghai completely empty. I was surprised not to hear anything about it as I monitor the news pretty closely usually, but I guess Ukraine and Slap Bet is gumming everything up.
Didn't see anything posted and looks like the Covid sub-forum is gone unless I'm blind (** edit I'm confirmed blind, however I don't see anything about it there either and I think it's kind of a big deal). Feel free to move it. Concerning? Are people in the 'West' totally over it to the point of pure apathy? I kinda am if I'm being honest.
I read somewhere that the vaccine used in China (sinovac?) is not as effective against the omicron variant. Lockdown might also have to do with the zero-COVID approach there
Yeah, Shanghai is back in lockdown for a week or so. Had around 430 cases of covid in Shanghai yesterday I think. Testing being done of the whole city basically, first by batch testing neighborhoods in groups of 20 people then doing individual testing of people in any batch that has a positive. Stats for where there are positive cases are reported daily down to the level of the neighborhood/apartment complex. Groceries etc. being delivered to people in their neighborhoods as much as possible.
It's a different approach than taken here. For the most part it has meant life has been normal with no covid for most of the last two years, but it involves much stricter response when there's an outbreak. Hopefully they get it under control quickly.
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I read somewhere that the vaccine used in China (sinovac?) is not as effective against the omicron variant. Lockdown might also have to do with the zero-COVID approach there
Sinovac was barely effective against the Alpha and Delta variants, Omicron probably not anywhere as much.
There have been protests in Shanghai, Beijing, and other places. There was also more sharing of frustration and opposition on wechat yesterday than I can ever remember before. Really, peaceful protests/demonstrations on all kinds of things in China are a lot more common than is portrayed in Western media's vision of the police state, but these protests about zero covid and frustrations are the first I can remember that appear to have such a broad base as the issues aren't just local. Will be very interesting to see how it develops.
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It has always baffled me that Chinese leadership is totally willing to repress human rights in many ways to achieve their goals, but won't do anything to wield their power to get more people vaccinated. Pretty much everyone who is dying of COVID in China is an unvaccinated elderly person.
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Ridiculous regime. Pissing away any economic or social gains made in the last 25 years on this insane Covid Zero policy. They will never swallow their pride and import enough Western vaccine for this to stop being a problem.
Why are they still pursuing this ridiculous Covid-zero policy? Is it just a face-saving kind of thing?
They've claimed the Covid-Zero as proof that their system is better than the West - China and only China can keep Covid out. But with these latest variants its just a lost cause to keep it out - but their pride is preventing them from pivoting.
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It has always baffled me that Chinese leadership is totally willing to repress human rights in many ways to achieve their goals, but won't do anything to wield their power to get more people vaccinated. Pretty much everyone who is dying of COVID in China is an unvaccinated elderly person.
They know their vaccine is basically useless anyway, no point.
Ridiculous regime. Pissing away any economic or social gains made in the last 25 years on this insane Covid Zero policy. They will never swallow their pride and import enough Western vaccine for this to stop being a problem.
With all due respect, the "western" vaccine would not stop the problem as the Chinese government has defined it. You can disagree with a Covid zero policy and the way it's enforced, but vaccination isn't the solution to Covid zero.
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