Editor's note: Since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic in the world, President Xi Jinping has repeatedly advocated "joining hands to fight the epidemic" on international occasions, and promoted international cooperation in epidemic prevention and control from the perspective of building a community with a shared future for mankind. At the same time, China has taken the lead in exchanging anti-epidemic experience with all parties and providing anti-epidemic materials. From now on, Nandu and N Video launched an interview with China's global contribution to the fight against the epidemic in a big country, interviewing relevant authorities from the United Nations, WHO and other institutions, as well as many countries, to talk about Their views on China's responsibility.
"The Chinese government has proved its strong epidemic prevention and control capabilities. In the international community, China has played an important role in providing medical supplies and donating vaccines to other countries. Recently, Dennis Carrol, an American epidemiologist and chairman of the Global Virology Project, was interviewed by the Southern Metropolis Daily and N video reporters.
Dennis Carroll is The Chair of the Global Virology Program, former Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development's Department of Global Epidemic Viruses and Potential Threats, and a senior advisor to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In recent years, Carroll has repeatedly publicly called for the issue of virus traceability not to be politicized.
He told Nandu and N video reporters that "China has done a good job in providing material donations to other countries and has played an important role in promoting global epidemic prevention." Recently, China has also made a commitment to donate more vaccines, which is heartening, and many countries are grateful for all that China has done. ”
Dennis Carroll
【Interview with Dennis Carroll】
"China has proved its ability to fight the epidemic with facts, and the commitment to donate vaccines is heartening"
Nandu: What is your assessment of China's current achievements in fighting the epidemic?
Dennis Carroll: China is at the forefront of the fight against the epidemic. At home, the Chinese government has proven its strong epidemic prevention and control capabilities.
First, China has shown that even in the absence of a vaccine, the spread of the virus can be effectively controlled by controlling social distancing, wearing masks and paying attention to personal hygiene, and China has done excellent work in these areas to really control the number of infected people. Second, after the emergence of vaccines, China achieved very high vaccine coverage. As far as I know, Chinese people have received more than 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine in a short period of time. These are all epidemic prevention experiences worth learning from other countries.
Nandu: How do you see China's role in the global fight against the pandemic?
Dennis Carroll: China plays a very important role in the global fight against the pandemic. China has done a good job in providing material donations to other countries and has played an important role in promoting global epidemic prevention. Recently, China has also made a commitment to donate more vaccines, which is heartening, and many countries are grateful for all that China has done.
China has set a good example for other countries. But the reality is that China alone is still not enough, many countries still face very big challenges, some developing countries vaccination rates are still very low, we urgently need to make everyone vaccinated, which requires the United States and more countries with the financial capacity to work with China to deal with the pandemic.
"The United States and other countries must stop using the virus as a political weapon"
Nandu: You have publicly spoken out many times that the issue of virus traceability should not be politicized.
Dennis Carroll: I've been working in the field of prevention and control for almost 30 years, and I've been thinking a lot about what to do to prepare for future outbreaks, talking about a lot of technical issues, scientific issues, and health systems. But when COVID-19 emerged, what we didn't expect was that a pandemic would cause political divisions in the world. In my view, the real tragedy of the COVID-19 pandemic is that it is not only a global health event, but also a serious disruption of global relations because it has been heavily politicized.
I think the biggest responsibility for the politicization of COVID-19 lies with former US President Trump. He first began to use the epidemic as a way to attack China, which caused great harm to the prevention and control of the global epidemic. One lesson we should learn is that we must ensure that future outbreaks come back and never let politics interfere with our response to global threats as we did this time.
Nandu: Some Western politicians continue to politicize the origin of the new crown virus. What do you think about that?
Dennis Carroll: It seems to me that a "virus lab leak" is a highly unlikely situation, and all of our current scientific research suggests that it's a natural event, a virus circulating in wild animals, overflowing through a series of natural events and eventually entering humans. We need to look for further substantive evidence, so traceability of the virus is necessary, but this is not to blame anyone, but to understand what dynamics allow the virus to form and eventually spread, so as to better prepare for the next outbreak.
Recently, the National Institutes of Health released a study in which researchers took a total of 24,000 blood samples from across the United States in early 2020, and testing these blood samples showed that the new crown virus had spread at low levels in the United States as early as December 2019, which is very credible. Therefore, our more in-depth investigation into the origin of COVID-19 should also continue.
I believe that the United States and other countries must stop using the virus as a political weapon; scientists must pay attention to evidence, follow the evidence, and not be "kidnapped" by politics when studying the virus. If we can depoliticize the issue of COVID-19 traceability and insist on scientific investigation, we will be able to reach fair and transparent conclusions.
"The fight against the epidemic is a challenge for all mankind, and no country alone can succeed"
Nandu: As an epidemiologist in the United States, what is your assessment of the local anti-epidemic situation?
Dennis Carroll: Instead of making people fully aware of the risks posed by the coronavirus, the previous U.S. administration released inaccurate information that misjudged the severity of the virus. At present, even if the current US government attaches greater importance to epidemic prevention and control, there are still a large number of people who have made very wrong decisions because they accept very wrong information - refuse to be vaccinated.
American society has always advertised "freedom", and the current situation is also the price of "freedom", making life difficult for the people of this country.
Nandu: How do you think countries around the world should cooperate in the face of COVID-19?
Dennis Carroll: We need to recognize two things: first, the character of this COVID-19 pandemic has shown that one place in the world is out of control and COVID-19 poses a threat to anywhere in the world; second, COVID-19 can be a protracted battle, and we need to ensure that not only people around the world are vaccinated today, but also that we need to continue to produce effective vaccines for a longer period of time to come.
The fight against the epidemic is not a problem of one country, but a challenge placed before all mankind, and no country alone can succeed. The United States must put aside its political differences and work with China and other countries to provide assistance with vaccine accessibility to more countries in need and create vaccine equity together.
Nandu: Do you have anything to share with Chinese readers?
Dennis Carroll: I am a loyal admirer of the Chinese people, and it is an honor for me to work with many of China's top scientists. In China, not only scientists, but also professionals in the field of public health that I have worked with are very intelligent and dedicated. Once again, I wish Chinese people the opportunity to visit China as soon as possible and to the successful hosting of the exciting Winter Olympics in Beijing in a few months.
Interview with China's Global Contribution to the Fight Against the Epidemic
Chief planner: Rong Mingchang
Executive Planner: Wang Jia
Coordinator: Nandu reporter Xiang Xueni
Chief Writer: Nandu reporter Yu Yijing
Written by: Nandu reporter Yu Yijing Intern Qian Huan Liu Baiyi