China’s Covid ‘Triumph’ Will Rely on Vaccines, Drugs, Mild Variants, Top Expert Says
- Covid Zero approach allows country to better prepare: expert
- Health-care system would be overwhelmed if virus curbs eased
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China’s Covid Zero policy is buying time for the country to bolster measures that will allow it to declare victory over the virus, according to a top expert.
The country must boost immunization rates among the elderly and vulnerable from current levels, and ensure it has ample medical resources like hospital beds and antiviral pills, Liang Wannian, the head of the National Health Commission expert panel, said at a briefing in Beijing on Friday. The strategy will be helped if future variants come with a lower risk of death, he said.