The Information Office of the State Council held a press conference in Beijing on April 29 to introduce the situation of adhering to the "dynamic clearance" to do a good job in epidemic prevention and control.
compere
Deputy Director of the Information Bureau of the Information Office of the State Council and Press Spokesperson
Shou Xiaoli
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the press conference of the Information Office of the State Council. The theme of our press conference today is to adhere to dynamic clearance and do a good job in epidemic prevention and control. Today, we invite Mr. Li Bin, Deputy Director of the National Health Commission, Mr. Lei Zhenglong, Head of the Disease Control Bureau of the National Health Commission, and Mr. Liang Wannian, Head of the Expert Group of the Leading Group for Epidemic Response and Handling of the National Health Commission, to introduce the relevant situation and answer questions of interest to everyone.
Next, I would like to give the floor to Mr. Li Bin for an introduction.
Deputy Director of the National Health Commission
Li Bin
Dear friends from the media, good morning! Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has always adhered to the principle of "people first, life first", focusing on the overall situation, based on science, grasping the law, and consistently adhering to the general strategy of "external prevention of imports, internal prevention of rebound" and the general policy of "dynamic zeroing". The practice of epidemic prevention and control for more than two years has proved that the "dynamic zero clearance" practice of discovering and extinguishing together has protected the life safety and physical health of the people to the greatest extent, and minimized the impact of the epidemic on the overall economic and social development of the country.
Since the end of February this year, in the face of the epidemic of the Aomi Kerong variant strain, which has significantly increased its transmission and concealment, the epidemic situation in the mainland has shown the characteristics of many points, wide coverage and frequent occurrence, and the prevention and control work has experienced the most severe test after the Wuhan defense war. In this regard, we always adhere to the "dynamic clearance" without hesitation and wavering, and coordinate the deployment of testing, circulation, transfer, isolation, admission and treatment and other forces at the first time to curb the spread of the epidemic to the greatest extent. At present, the clustered epidemic situation in Jilin and many other places has been effectively controlled, the Shanghai zero-clearance battle has achieved initial results, and the national epidemic situation has shown a fluctuating downward trend.
We are facing an infectious disease epidemic that has not been encountered in a century, the current global epidemic is still at a high level, the virus is still mutating, our understanding of the new crown virus and diseases is still in the process of deepening, and the risks and threats brought by the epidemic still exist. The mainland is a country with a large population, unbalanced regional development, insufficient total medical resources, if the epidemic prevention and control is relaxed, allowing the virus to spread, it is bound to cause a large number of people to be infected in the short term, and then a large number of severe and death cases, medical and health resources will face a serious run risk, a large number of patients with underlying diseases, the elderly, children and pregnant women and other vulnerable groups of people's health will bear the brunt of the serious threat, stable economic and social development will be seriously affected.
Since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the mainland has taken the lead in controlling the epidemic, taking the lead in resuming work and production, and taking the lead in achieving positive economic growth among the world's major economies. The stable epidemic prevention and control situation provides the most favorable environment for the mainland to maintain its global leading position in economic development and epidemic prevention and control. It is cost-effective to adhere to the "national chess game" and adopt local and strict epidemic prevention measures in the epidemic areas to ensure the normal production and life of most regions and people in the country.
From the Wuhan defense war, to the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, to the precise prevention and control of the whole chain against Delta and Aomi Kerong, we have always adhered to the general policy of "dynamic zeroing", found together, extinguished together. Practice has proved that "dynamic zero clearance" is the best choice for the current overall planning of epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, and is the bottom line that must be kept in the current epidemic prevention and control of the mainland.
"Dynamic zero clearance" is not an absolute "zero infection", in the face of the challenge of mutant strains such as Omicron, we do not have the ability to guarantee that there will not be a single local case, but the mainland has accumulated a set of effective prevention and control measures in rich prevention and control practices, and according to the new changes of the virus and the new situation of the epidemic, the prevention and control measures have been continuously optimized and upgraded according to the situation. In our work, we have resolutely unified our thoughts and actions, implemented the requirements for prevention and control, strengthened the epidemic defense line, improved our ability level, and tightened the "responsibility of the four parties". We have the ability and confidence to respond quickly, accurately prevent and control the epidemic situation in the local area, take all-round comprehensive measures to extinguish the epidemic in the shortest possible time, and achieve the greatest prevention and control effect at the lowest cost.
That is the basic information I would like to share with you. Next, my colleagues and I would like to answer your questions. Thank you.
compere
Deputy Director of the Information Bureau of the Information Office of the State Council and Press Spokesperson
Shou Xiaoli
Thank you Deputy Director Li Bin for your introduction. Let's move on to the question-and-answer session, so please let us know your news organization before asking questions.
CGTN reporter
There are some voices that believe that the mainland is vast and the situation varies from place to place. Therefore, the implementation of the "dynamic zero clearance" policy should also be adapted to local conditions and appropriate adaptations. How should we view this view? At the same time, can it be achieved to coexist in some places and "dynamically clear zero" in others? Thank you.
Deputy Director of the National Health Commission
Li Bin
First of all, thank you for your question, because this issue is of great concern to the media and a very concerned issue for the public. Epidemic prevention and control is an overall battle, we must enhance the awareness of the overall situation, adhere to the national chess game, only the epidemic is controlled in an orderly manner can provide a solid guarantee for people's life and health, in order to create favorable conditions for normal production and life. Only when all localities adhere to the "dynamic clearance" and strive to control the local epidemic situation can they win a comprehensive victory in the prevention and control of the epidemic in the country. If the "dynamic zero clearance" in individual places is not resolute and decisive, and it is flexible, the virus may take root in the local area, resulting in the rapid spread of the local epidemic, leading to the spillover of the epidemic, and even cross-regional transmission, becoming the "communicator" and "amplifier" of the epidemic, causing major losses to people's lives and property, and seriously affecting economic and social development.
Under the premise of adhering to the general principle of "dynamic zero clearance", we encourage local governments to explore and summarize some good experiences and practices according to the local epidemic situation and characteristics, further improve the scientific and accurate level of epidemic prevention and control, and strive to achieve the greatest prevention and control effect at the smallest cost. Thank you.
Reporter of Beijing Youth Daily
Some people believe that the spread of Omikerong is very rapid, but the proportion of mild and asymptomatic among infected people is relatively high, and everyone believes that the mainland's epidemic prevention policy can also choose to lie flat. What do you think of this view? Thank you.
Deputy Director of the National Health Commission
Li Bin
This view is also of great concern to everyone at present. Next, I would like to invite President Liang Wannian, the leader of our expert group, to answer this question.
Leader of the expert group of the National Health Commission's Leading Group for Epidemic Response and Handling
Liang Wannian
Thank you. From a global perspective, the strategies and measures adopted by various countries to prevent and control the new crown pneumonia epidemic are first decided based on their prevention and control concepts. China's concept of prevention and control has always been to adhere to the people first, life first, that is to say, the people-centered, health-centered concept to carry out epidemic prevention and control. Under this big concept, we adhere to the general policy of dynamic zero clearance, and at the same time, with the changes of the epidemic situation, we are constantly optimizing and improving various prevention and control measures. It can be said that through our efforts, we have effectively protected the masses of the people from the harm of diseases brought about by the so-called herd immunity and natural immunity, which are natural infections, protected the physical health and life safety of the broadest masses of the people, and safeguarded the normal production and economic development of the vastst areas.
Internationally, some countries have opted for the so-called "lying flat", where they have two immune states coexisting. First, through natural immunity, that is, herd immunity, he was naturally infected, and more people have been infected with the new crown virus. On the other hand, they also get active immunization through active vaccination. The mainland mainly increases resistance and establishes an immune barrier through active vaccine immunization. At present, the mainland has been vaccinated with more than 3.3 billion doses of new crown vaccine, 90% of the population has been vaccinated, but it is still unbalanced, especially in different regions of different ages, there is still an imbalance in vaccination rates, if we add another effort, especially to increase the vaccination rate of the elderly, children and other vulnerable groups, to achieve a controllable active immune barrier. We believe that active immunity is better than uncontrollable passive immunity.
The mainland is a populous country, regional development is unbalanced, medical resources are generally insufficient, and resource allocation is also unbalanced. As I said just now, the vaccination rate of "one old and one small" is not high enough overall, in the face of the repeated impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, if the so-called "lying flat" strategy coexisting with the virus is adopted, medical and health resources will face a serious run risk, and the health of a large number of patients with underlying diseases, the elderly, children, pregnant women and other groups of people will be threatened. At the same time, it will also have a serious impact on economic and social development. In this case, we must adhere to the general policy of "dynamic zero clearance" and adhere to our strategies and measures without wavering. Of course, it is also necessary to continuously optimize and improve prevention and control measures, which is also a window of time. If we strengthen vaccination and accelerate the development of drugs, vaccines, etc., I think we may seize this opportunity. When we have some relevant conditions, such as high vaccination coverage, especially the elderly and other vulnerable groups of vaccination coverage to further improve, all places are ready for medical resources, isolation beds, effective drugs, material supply, emergency mechanisms, etc., while effective drugs can be widely used, the virus does not appear worse, new mutations, but more moderate, the risk of death is the range we can bear, using the "dynamic clearance" to leave us a window of time, do these related preparations, We will be able to defeat COVID-19.
Thank you.
Bloomberg reporter
The first question is, what experience has Beijing learned from Shanghai in this epidemic prevention and control? The second question is, what measures does China have to strengthen vaccination for the elderly, and what level of vaccination rate may China consider opening its borders when the vaccination rate for the elderly reaches? Thank you.
Deputy Director of the National Health Commission
Li Bin
Thank you for your question, which involves two questions, and invites the two comrades to answer them separately. Director Lei was asked to answer questions about vaccination for the elderly, and President Liang was asked to answer questions about the experience needed for current prevention and control in Beijing.
Head of the Disease Control Bureau of the National Health Commission
Lei Zhenglong
Thank you for your question. According to the deployment of the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council, the National Health Commission continues to guide all localities to actively and steadily promote the vaccination of the new crown vaccine. As of April 28, the country has reported a total of 3.34 billion and 711,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, the total number of vaccinated people has reached 1,284,935,000, and 1,249,688,000 people have been vaccinated, accounting for 91.14% and 88.64% of the total population of the country, respectively. 750.189 million people were immunized intensively, of which 29.967 million were continuously immunized, 227.088 million people were vaccinated for the elderly over 60 years old, and 215.155 million people were vaccinated. The number of people covered and the number of people who were fully vaccinated accounted for 86.01% and 81.49% of the elderly population, respectively. 160.425 million people have been immunized intensively.
At present, the new crown virus vaccination is generally smooth, the strengthening of immunization is being carried out in an orderly manner, and the vaccination rate of the elderly population is gradually increasing. Recently, the National Health Commission has remobilized and redeployed the vaccination of the elderly. The first is to implement territorial responsibilities. It is required that all localities fully understand the importance and urgency of vaccination for the elderly, actively do a good job in the mapping and statistics of the elderly in the jurisdiction, and further strengthen the organization and implementation to ensure the safety of vaccination. The second is to give full play to the role of the aging sector. In order to further promote the vaccination of the elderly, the Office of the National Committee on Aging issued the "Notice on Promoting the Vaccination of the Elderly with the New Coronavirus" in the early stage, guiding all localities to give full play to the advantages of social organizations related to the elderly in close contact with the elderly, combine sections and blocks, and make efforts in the same direction to ensure that safe and convenient conditions are provided for the vaccination of the elderly. The third is to increase the intensity of publicity and mobilization, we combined with the "National Child Vaccination Day" on April 25 this year, the publicity platform, to guide all localities to adapt to local conditions, using radio, television, newspapers and periodicals and government community open letters and other forms, as well as new media and self-media and other platforms, to go deep into the community, villages, nursing homes, etc., widely carry out new crown virus vaccination publicity, improve everyone's enthusiasm and initiative in vaccination. Vaccination and personal protection are effective means of prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, here, I also hope that media friends will support more, carry out more vaccination science publicity work, and work together to further improve the new crown vaccination rate of key groups and the elderly population to help prevent and control the epidemic. Thank you.
Leader of the expert group of the National Health Commission's Leading Group for Epidemic Response and Handling
Liang Wannian
Let me answer the second question. The epidemic strains in Beijing and Shanghai are both Omikejong variants, both of which are mega cities with populations of 20 million or more. The Omikejung mutation, which has the characteristics of fast transmission and strong concealment, has added great difficulty to these megacities in the fight against the new crown pneumonia epidemic. Whether it is from the organization and implementation, or the relevant nucleic acid detection capacity, medical treatment capacity, etc., higher requirements have been put forward. So to a certain extent, it is a test of the governance system and governance capabilities of these megacities.
From the epidemic situation experienced in Shanghai, including the fact that Beijing is now fighting the sporadic COVID-19 epidemic, I think there are a few points that can be enlightened. First, the spread of the Omiljunn variant is too fast, the concealment is too strong, so we must optimize and improve the original strain of the new crown pneumonia virus in the past and the α, β, Delta mutant strain of this way of playing to optimize and improve, the overall one is to cure fast, the virus spreads fast, the speed of our shot, the strength and speed of work to be faster, to race with this virus in time, this is a very important change.
Second, we still have to build confidence. In fact, some Chinese cities, such as Shenzhen in Guangdong, Changchun in Jilin Province, Jilin City, Tianjin, etc., have experienced the invasion of the Aumetic Jung mutation. However, practice has proved that we have adopted effective strategies and ways of playing, which can effectively control the spread of the epidemic and achieve "dynamic clearance", so we must firmly establish this confidence. We have the ability, the foundation, and the conditions to defeat the epidemic and spread caused by the Aomi Kerong mutation. As you can see, both from Shanghai and Beijing, significant progress has been made.
Third, we need to take into account that the most vulnerable people in this variant are the elderly, patients with underlying diseases, and the most effective means of protection is vaccination. The aging population of these two cities is also relatively large, and the proportion of the elderly population is higher than the national average, so the elderly strengthen vaccination and effectively improve the vaccination process, including strengthening the vaccination rate of needle vaccination, which is an effective means to protect their physical health and life safety, which must be strengthened. At the same time, we should also emphasize that in response to the invasion of the Aomi Kerong mutant strain, we must go all out to achieve "four should be exhausted", should be inspected, should be isolated, should be collected, should be cured, this is an experience we have formed since the fight against the Wuhan epidemic in 2020. As long as the "four should be four exhausted", we can quickly and effectively cut off the transmission chain of the epidemic, effectively protect the health of the people, and effectively implement medical treatment.
Finally, the fight against the new crown pneumonia epidemic is an overall war, a war of resistance, but also a people's war, the fight against the epidemic is a systematic project, which requires both the government, all departments, the whole society, and everyone to form a strong synergy. Therefore, Shanghai's fight against the epidemic includes Beijing's fight against the epidemic. It should be a mobilization of the whole society, using a system engineering concept to play the role of the four parties. I think that if we fight a people's war and deal with it at a faster speed and with more scientific and effective means, we will certainly be able to defeat the new crown pneumonia epidemic. Thank you.
Journalist of Hong Kong Dagong Wenhui Media
The current epidemic prevention measures have brought certain inconveniences to production and life, and some people believe that the "dynamic zero clearance" policy has dragged down China's economic development. What do you think of the impact of the "dynamic zeroing" policy on the economy? Thank you.
Leader of the expert group of the National Health Commission's Leading Group for Epidemic Response and Handling
Liang Wannian
Thank you for your question. First of all, we must clarify a relationship, that is, the ultimate goal of "dynamic zero clearance" is to protect the physical health and life safety of the people to the greatest extent, and at the same time to protect social and economic development and normal production and life to the greatest extent. The "dynamic zeroing" and economic development and normal production and life are mutually coordinated, not opposed, and do not mean that the implementation of the general policy of "dynamic zeroing" and the series of measures and strategies we adopt are to affect economic development and normal production and life, not this concept. Because the fight against the epidemic and economic development are mutually coordinated, they are one of the main goals of "dynamic zeroing". "Dynamic zero clearance" has three sub-goals: First, it is to effectively protect physical health and life safety. The second is to effectively protect economic development, promote economic development, and protect economic development from the impact of the virus and the epidemic. The third is to effectively guarantee the normal production and life of the people. So, it's not antithetical.
We must realize that the epidemic and the virus are the main culprits that drag down the economy. Pandemics will have an impact on the economies of all countries, and the fight against the epidemic in various countries, in fact, under the guidance of their own ideas, has adopted a series of strategies and measures aimed at minimizing the impact of the epidemic and the virus. However, due to differences in concepts, policies, strategies, and the intensity and speed of measures, it reflects the differences in the anti-epidemic effects and benefits of different countries and different places. Of course, we must also see that some specific prevention and control measures taken to defeat the epidemic will cause temporary inconvenience to life and the impact of short-term social and economic activities, which is also objective. However, the general policy of "dynamic zero clearance" emphasizes precision, and it is necessary to accurately balance the relationship between anti-epidemic and economic development and normal production and life. How to be precise? In fact, all localities are required to combine the characteristics of the epidemic, combine the different stages of the development of the epidemic, and combine the local social and economic conditions, and strive to accurately balance the relationship between anti-epidemic and economic development and normal production and life under the premise of effectiveness.
The last thing I want to say is, what do you think of this balance? The process of balance is actually a dynamic process, which is viewed under the guidance of a prime minister's ideas and guidelines. Therefore, when we look at the relationship between balance, anti-epidemic and economic development, we should look at the balance issue from a macro perspective, a group perspective, and a dynamic perspective. In fact, it is to deal with short-term and long-term relationships, local and overall relationships, and individual and group relationships. Specifically, when we implement certain specific strategies and measures, in the short term, we may sacrifice the convenience of life in some local areas and some people, so that the economy of some local areas will be affected to a certain extent in a short period of time, but we can exchange them for the normal production and life and economic development of the broadest areas and the broadest masses of the people. I think this is cost-effective and it's also a balance. Throughout the fight against the epidemic, the Chinese government has always regarded the balance of this relationship as an important goal, and Chinese people have also been working hard to find and explore how to do a good job in this balance in different epidemic situations and in different regions, and find the means, paths and methods of balance.
Thank you.
Red Star News reporter
Recently, the National Health Commission said that at present, the prevention and control of the epidemic in the mainland has entered the fourth stage, that is, the all-round comprehensive prevention and control of "scientific precision and dynamic clearance", when did this stage begin? Why is there such an adjustment? Thank you.
Deputy Director of the National Health Commission
Li Bin
Thank you for your question, and thank you for your attention to the different stages of epidemic prevention and control in our country. Looking back on the anti-epidemic process over the past two years, the mainland's prevention and control measures and diagnosis and treatment plans have been continuously optimized and adjusted according to the changes in the epidemic situation, and the "people-centered" development concept on China's anti-epidemic questionnaire has always run through the whole process. The prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, from the perspective of our country, is now divided into four stages: the first stage, the emergency containment stage of the sudden epidemic. It took about three months to achieve decisive results in the defense war in Wuhan and Hubei, and successfully blocked the local spread of the epidemic. The second stage is the exploration stage of normalization prevention and control. Focus on nucleic acid testing to expand prevention, and use 2-3 incubation periods to control the epidemic. The third stage is the precise prevention and control of the whole chain and the dynamic zeroing stage. Based on grasping the foundation of grasping early and grasping small, we will make full use of the golden 24 hours after the outbreak of the epidemic, and strive to control the epidemic around an incubation period. At present, the mainland has entered the fourth stage of "scientific, accurate, and dynamic clearance" of all-round comprehensive prevention and control.
In view of the characteristics of the Aomi Kerong variant strain, which is highly infectious, the speed of transmission, the proportion of asymptomatic infected people is high, and the hidden transmission is strong, the experience of prevention and control in various places is summarized, and various measures for prevention and control are continuously improved. In terms of prevention and control measures, the main direction of attack is clarified, the priority of prevention and control measures is clear, and the community prevention and control is placed in an important position with "space for time". The first time to control the risk group within the scope of control, positive infection should be treated, close contacts should be isolated, as far as possible to the sub-close connection of centralized isolation, and strive to block the chain of epidemic transmission in the shortest possible time. Advance antigen + nucleic acid screening to find infected people as quickly as possible. The "three public (workers)" of public security, industry and information technology, and public health coordinate to carry out circulation surveys, accurately determine the scope of risk groups, and accurately take prevention and control measures. In the organization and management of epidemic disposal, more coordinated and efficient, with fast production and fast production, and centralized overall planning as the principle, to ensure the coordination and linkage of nucleic acid detection, circulation adjustment, isolation and transfer, community control and other links, to minimize the time from initial screening positive to the completion of transfer, focusing on areas with high incidence of the epidemic, concentrating superior forces, organizing the implementation of key areas, and quickly curbing the momentum of epidemic transmission.
In short, no matter how the epidemic situation changes, we will adhere to the concept of people first and life first, and carefully grasp the prevention and control of the epidemic as always. Thank you.
Journalist for the British Independent Television
Just now, the Chinese publisher mentioned that in some cities, China's anti-epidemic efforts have achieved very obvious results, but in Shanghai, we have seen some twists and turns in Shanghai's anti-epidemic measures. You just mentioned that aging may be the cause of Shanghai's twists and turns, are there any other reasons? The second question is, what are China's plans for vaccination, especially in the mRNA vaccine?
Deputy Director of the National Health Commission
Li Bin
This raises two issues. The first aspect of the problem is very clear, please ask President Liang to introduce the relevant situation. Second, regarding the situation related to the mRNA vaccine, please ask Director Lei to answer.
Leader of the expert group of the National Health Commission's Leading Group for Epidemic Response and Handling
Liang Wannian
Thank you. At present, the prevention and control of the epidemic in Shanghai is still in a critical stage, but we also see that from the perspective of the reported incidence curve of cases, it is in a declining stage. In fact, it is still declining at a high level, which shows that a series of measures and strategies adopted by our epidemic prevention and control are playing a role, effectively curbing its upward momentum and showing signs of improvement. However, the number of cases per day in Shanghai is still fluctuating, and the situation is still severe and complex.
The characteristics of Shanghai and Beijing are both megacities, with a large population base, a large population density, and a large population mobility, which has caused great difficulties in prevention and control. Because of such a large population, There are nearly 25 million people in Shanghai, and we must organize a nucleic acid test to implement a certain anti-epidemic measure, which requires systematic and thorough resource allocation and mobilization and coordination to effectively complete. From the municipal government to the district, and then to the specific landing of the street, neighborhood committee, it is a systematic project, which is a difficult point. Unlike some other cities and local areas, it will soon be able to do it and do it well.
Second, we are required to have a strong ability to fight pathogens. Academics often talk about time and space, that is to say, how big is the resistance capacity and capacity of our system, such as nucleic acid detection capacity, nucleic acid detection capacity for 1 million cities and nucleic acid detection capacity for 25 million cities, the requirements are not the same, that is, the capacity is not the same. When it is not enough, the time will be long, and when it is enough, it may be completed in 24 hours. So, this piece is another challenge.
In addition, when fighting the epidemic, it is still necessary to ensure the operation of the urban lifeline, and there are some necessary water, electricity, coal, gas, public safety, etc. to ensure economic operation and ensure the normal life of the people. For example, our courier brother, necessary transportation, medical staff treatment, community organizers and volunteers, etc., this necessary population mobility still exists. Due to the widespread spread of community transmission in Shanghai, this population movement is bound to bring greater risks to prevention and control.
Such a large city, when the epidemic develops rapidly, how to really achieve "four should be four exhausted", the test has been tested, the positive and close contacts have been found, the treatment and management have been managed, the treatment has been effectively treated, these aspects need to be fully prepared and sufficient resources to ensure, if not enough, for positive infections, for confirmed patients, or for close contacts or sub-close contacts, if we do not achieve "bed and others", still stranded in the community, It is bound to cause the spread within the family and even the community, how to effectively ensure the realization of "four should be four exhaustion" and the realization of "beds and others", which is also a challenge for Shanghai. However, we are very happy to see that Shanghai is moving towards this aspect, medical treatment has achieved remarkable results, and the square cabin has basically realized the "bed and waiting for people". These are a process, some time ago Shanghai was more difficult, in fact, and the characteristics of the city, and the rapid spread of the epidemic, as well as the capacity of our overall resources, as well as population mobility and other aspects are related.
Finally, I would like to say that Shanghai has a large population density, and after the outbreak to the present, it is widespread community transmission, and this widespread community transmission measures are more difficult to prevent and control than in a local point and a local regional cluster epidemic. Therefore, the time may be relatively long, and the intensity taken, such as nucleic acid detection, antigen detection, screening strategies, etc., will take longer and more frequently.
Thank you.
Head of the Disease Control Bureau of the National Health Commission
Lei Zhenglong
Regarding mRNA vaccines, at present, the mainland has laid out a number of research and development tasks, and the faster progress is carrying out phase III clinical trials abroad, and some are in the process of review and approval. For details, it is recommended to consult the relevant departments. Thank you.
Beijing Daily reporter
Under the principle of adhering to the "dynamic zero clearance", how to make the epidemic prevention policy more conducive to the resumption of work and production, as far as possible to reduce the impact on the ordinary people. How to ensure efficiency and humanization, and better promote the smooth implementation of "dynamic zeroing"? Thank you.
Head of the Disease Control Bureau of the National Health Commission
Lei Zhenglong
Thank you for your question. Since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, we have resolutely implemented the decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, actively guided all localities to strengthen scientific prevention and control and precise policies, and adhered to the general strategy of "external prevention of imports, internal prevention of rebound" and the general policy of "dynamic clearance". With the continuous deepening of the understanding of the new crown virus, according to the changes in the epidemic situation and the actual needs of prevention and control work, prevention and control policies and measures are also constantly being adjusted and improved to better coordinate epidemic prevention and control and social and economic development.
The first is to continuously improve the scientific and accurate level of epidemic prevention and control. According to the epidemic prevention and control situation, we will continue to improve the epidemic prevention and control plan, after the outbreak of the epidemic, we will strive to find the close connection and sub-close connection in the shortest possible time, shorten the time that the infected and the close connection stay in the society, and narrow the scope of the spread of the epidemic. Scientifically demarcate medium- and high-risk areas, and do a good job of accurate control of hierarchical classification and zoning. In community prevention and control, accurately divide the sealing and control area, the control area, and the prevention area.
The second is to minimize the impact of the epidemic on the public. In the face of the epidemic, we have strictly controlled and strengthened. At the same time, we provide intimate and heart-warming services to ensure the normal medical needs of the masses during the epidemic. Accurately understand the situation of patients with special diagnosis and treatment needs in the sealing and control areas and control areas, and accurately dock with the community and corresponding medical institutions. Residents who need to see a doctor can get out of the community door and enter the door of the hospital. Make every effort to ensure the daily necessities of the masses during the epidemic period, coordinate the efforts of all parties, accelerate the improvement of the supply and distribution system at all levels, strengthen the allocation of materials, and ensure the smooth flow of channels. Coordinate the efforts of community social organizations, owners' committees, property service enterprises, volunteer service personnel and other parties, and do a good job of demand collection, centralized procurement, material distribution and other work on a household-by-house basis, with guarantees in place, services in place, and care in place.
The third is to promote the resumption of work and production in a standardized and orderly manner. Recently, some localities and relevant departments have orderly promoted the resumption of work and production under the condition of strict prevention of the epidemic, ensured the smooth flow of transportation and logistics, optimized the management of drivers and passengers, and strictly implemented closed-loop management, health monitoring, nucleic acid testing and other requirements. Optimize epidemic prevention and control measures during the journey, set up convenient and sufficient nucleic acid testing points, and implement the requirements of "picking and leaving". Coordinate the prevention and control of the epidemic and the transportation of key materials, coordinate the prevention and control of the epidemic and spring agricultural production, and for different agricultural production situations, we put forward targeted epidemic prevention measures to effectively ensure agricultural production and the supply of agricultural products. Thank you.
Cover news reporter
Some people believe that Omikeron is very different from the original strain, and the strong concealment, transmission and early isolation of the vision deviate, which determines that "dynamic zeroing" is almost equivalent to global silence and full nucleic acid. What do you think of this view? How can the spread of the epidemic be contained as soon as possible without full nucleic acids and city-wide lockdown? Thank you.
Leader of the expert group of the National Health Commission's Leading Group for Epidemic Response and Handling
Liang Wannian
Thank you for your question. The first thing I want to say is that although Omi kerong has the characteristics of strong transmission, strong occultity, and asymptomatic infection, it does not mean that early detection, early reporting, early isolation and early treatment are not possible, which is what we call "four early". To truly achieve the "four mornings", we do not necessarily need to do the nucleic acid of all employees in the city, and even the sealing and control of the whole city, so the fight against Aomi Kerong does not mean that it is the nucleic acid of all employees in the city, and it does not mean that it is the sealing and control of the whole city.
How to adopt nucleic acid detection strategies? Now we are advocating a joint nucleic acid + antigen self-testing strategy, which is determined according to the development stage and characteristics of the epidemic. Overall, the earlier the outbreak is detected, the clearer the chain of transmission will be. That is, where did the case come from? Who did you come into contact with? The easier it is to figure out this chain of transmission, the clearer the scope of the impact, and the better the "four earlys" of early detection, early reporting, early isolation, and early treatment are done. The more we can figure out its context, the scope of its spread, the higher the spread of the home, then the higher our accuracy, not necessarily the need for a larger scope of control, may only need to be in a precise, controllable range to take nucleic acid detection, antigen self-testing and corresponding control measures. So that's very important.
Whether we can achieve effective control of the epidemic situation without the conditions of nucleic acid testing for all employees and the sealing and control of the whole city, my answer is: as long as we do "four mornings". However, the "four mornings" are guaranteed by a series of concepts, capabilities and mechanisms. Therefore, when responding to the epidemic, I think all localities must make corresponding preparations, monitoring capabilities, discovery reports and rapid response capabilities, the participation of various departments and the public, and the vigilance and attention to this disease, all determine whether they can achieve the "four early". On the other hand, if we can't do the "four mornings", we find out late, especially for some infected people, it is not clear where he came from, nor how many people he has contacted, the scope of the impact is very large, at this time, for the fast characteristics of the Aumechjong mutation, the basic reproduction rate can reach 9.5. In addition, its median incubation period is 3 days, the original strain is 5.4 days, Delta is 4 days, and the time interval between generations of transmission is 2.83 days, so fast, in order to control it, in the case of unclear source of infection and the scope of the infection and the contact population, it is necessary to appropriately expand the scope of control, strengthen nucleic acid testing, and strengthen the corresponding control measures, I think this is also the need for epidemic prevention and control.
In general, the mainland should now have the "four early" technologies and means, such as our nucleic acid detection technology and antigen self-testing technology that has been widely promoted and used. Where outbreaks occur, an effective combination of nucleic acid detection and antigen detection is implemented to detect possible infected people as early as possible. In addition, we have a series of legal regulations and requirements for the reporting of the epidemic. In addition, we have a complete monitoring system, and monitoring capacity is being further strengthened. More importantly, for more than two years, we have accumulated experience in the fight against the new crown pneumonia virus, and our emergency response system, treatment system, people's participation in mass prevention and control, departmental linkage, and joint prevention and control mechanism have formed a most basic experience, that is, to treat quickly, especially for Omi kerong. As long as we make good use of these, we will certainly be able to implement the "four early" and defeat the new crown pneumonia epidemic as soon as possible with the smallest cost and cost. Thank you.
Reporter of China Daily
At present, some areas that are closed and controlled by the epidemic have difficulty in seeking medical treatment, how to ensure that the fight against the epidemic and the provision of normal medical services are not wrong? Thank you.
Deputy Director of the National Health Commission
Li Bin
Thank you for your question. Coordinating the prevention and control of the epidemic and normal medical services and ensuring the needs of the people's services is of great importance to safeguarding the health of the people. In the process of epidemic prevention and control, ensuring normal medical order and maintaining the continuity of medical services has always been our greatest concern.
At present, the new crown pneumonia epidemic in the country has shown a multi-point sporadic and local large-scale epidemic situation, the situation of prevention and control is still grim, some areas have been affected by the epidemic, some areas have been sealed and controlled, and the medical treatment of the masses has also been affected. In response to this problem, the National Health Commission has put forward clear requirements, made comprehensive arrangements, and also carried out specific and meticulous work guidance for various localities. Various localities have also adopted practical and effective measures to do everything possible to ensure the masses' medical needs. To solve this problem, we mainly grasp the key links in four aspects:
First, ensure the treatment of acutely critically ill patients. The National Health Commission deploys, requiring all localities to set up "yellow code" hospitals, open "cloud outpatient clinics", for critically ill patients, in the case of nucleic acid test results are unknown, it is necessary to timely start and standardize the use of emergency departments, rescue rooms, operating rooms, wards set up buffer areas, medical personnel strictly implement the first diagnosis responsibility system and the system of emergency and critical care rescue, do a good job of personal protection, timely and effective treatment, do not prevaricate and refuse, delay treatment for any reason.
Second, it is necessary to meet the medical needs of special groups. For patients on hemodialysis in the sealing and control area, patients with tumors such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy, as well as special groups such as pregnant women and newborns, local epidemic prevention and control departments should do a good job of investigation and statistics, establish ledgers, achieve "clear bottom numbers, clear situations", and effectively implement continuous medical service guarantees. For patients with chronic diseases who take drugs for a long time, grass-roots medical and health institutions can provide good services by prescribing long prescriptions and other means to meet the needs of medical services.
Third, improve medical security in areas where the epidemic occurs. During the epidemic prevention and control period, improve the level of overall planning, strengthen departmental linkage, and scientifically set up emergency telephones such as 120 and convenient service channels to ensure that the masses can "get through, contact, find people, and see the disease" in an emergency. The sealing and control area and the control area should continuously improve the operation mechanism of medical service management under the emergency state, arrange an expert team to provide consultation and evaluation to personnel in need, and if they need to go out for medical treatment, point-to-point pick-up and drop-off, closed-loop management, so that residents with medical needs can get out of the door of the community and enter the door of the hospital.
Fourth, coordinate the prevention and control of the epidemic and medical services within medical institutions. Further strengthen the monitoring and early warning of the epidemic situation in medical institutions, improve the process of handling sudden epidemics, and immediately activate emergency response plans once confirmed cases are found. While doing a good job in emergency response in a timely and effective manner, it is necessary to report to the local disease prevention and control command department and make overall plans for the prevention and control of the epidemic in the hospital and the prevention and control of the social epidemic. For medical institutions where cases are found, they cannot be managed and sealed because of the handling of the epidemic situation, and after taking control measures, the emergency mechanism is quickly activated to ensure the continuity of medical services in key departments such as emergency departments, dialysis rooms, operating rooms, intensive care units, and delivery rooms, to ensure that patients with acute and critical illness are treated in a timely manner, and the impact of epidemic prevention and control on the normal medical services of medical institutions is reduced as much as possible. Thank you.
Singapore Straits Times reporter
First, China stressed that the costs and benefits of the "dynamic zeroing policy" should be calculated from a macro level. I would like to ask, where is the tipping point where the costs outweigh the benefits? What exactly is the cost? Second, China has taken the lead in recovering from the epidemic and has been looking for new ways to deal with the constantly mutating new crown virus, what has China done in recent years to strengthen the capacity building of the medical system? Thank you.
Leader of the expert group of the National Health Commission's Leading Group for Epidemic Response and Handling
Liang Wannian
Thank you for your question. I think that when calculating the costs and benefits of fighting COVID-19, we should first clarify the relationship between the local and the whole, the short-term and long-term relationship, and we must look at its costs and benefits from a long-term, comprehensive, holistic and systematic point of view. Second, when evaluating the costs and benefits of fighting the epidemic, it is not only the economic or monetary costs and benefits. Because life is priceless, life cannot be measured in monetary terms. Therefore, when doing analysis, it should be a systematic point of view, to calculate the big account, the overall account, the dynamic account, not only to calculate the economic account, but also to calculate the people's livelihood account.
Theoretically, the strategies and measures taken to fight the epidemic must pay a cost, and this cost includes direct costs, such as vaccination, cabin construction, nucleic acid testing, which will invest a lot of manpower, material resources and financial resources, which are direct costs. At the same time, it will also trigger some indirect costs, such as the fight against the epidemic will restrict the mobility of some people in local areas, because of this liquidity restriction, it may cause some economic impacts, which is an indirect cost. There is also a cost that is intangible, such as isolated personnel, especially in the sealing area or control area, at home isolation will produce anxiety and some psychological problems, which can be called intangible costs.
Conversely, when calculating the benefits of anti-epidemic strategies and measures, it should also be a dynamic and multi-level, including direct benefits, indirect benefits, and even intangible benefits. The general strategy of "external prevention of imports and internal prevention of rebound" and the general policy of "dynamic clearance" adopted by the mainland since the fight against the epidemic have effectively avoided the large-scale epidemic and outbreak of the epidemic and protected the physical health and life safety of the broadest masses of the people. In fact, in terms of the loss of life expectancy, China has effectively avoided the loss of life expectancy and maintained the normal production and life and economic development of the people in the broadest areas. I think these are all concrete manifestations of the direct benefits of our fight against the epidemic. Just now, Director Li Bin also introduced that the mainland's economic development in 2020 has become the only major economy in the world to achieve positive growth, with GDP increasing by 8.1% over the previous year in 2021 and an average growth rate of 5.1% in two years, and the overall economic growth rate ranks among the top of the world's major economies. In the first quarter of 2022, gdp increased by 4.8% year-on-year, which has proved that "dynamic zeroing" is in line with China's national conditions and better balances the relationship between epidemic prevention and control and social and economic development.
Due to the uncertainty of the epidemic and other reasons, the general policy of "dynamic zero clearance" adopted by China and a series of anti-epidemic measures are equivalent to purchasing an insurance for China's 1.4 billion people to deal with uncertain factors such as changes in the epidemic and the spread of virus mutations, and the cost of purchasing insurance is to sacrifice the consumption of a small number of people, in order to maximize the overall social welfare. "Dynamic zero clearance" has also promoted the development of the digital economy, such as the telemedicine and big data technologies we use, which have promoted the development of China's digital economy, effectively guaranteed people's livelihood, and protected vulnerable people. At the same time, through joint prevention and control, through the improvement of community governance capabilities, we have also promoted the effective connection and linkage between public service departments, governments and society, higher-level governments to grass-roots community governance departments, and I think these can also be called the indirect and even intangible benefits generated by our implementation of "dynamic zeroing".
Medical treatment has always been an important part of China's fight against the new crown pneumonia epidemic, and the Chinese government has always attached great importance to it and taken a series of measures to strengthen the collection and treatment of all that should be collected, especially since the epidemic of the new crown pneumonia virus strain Omikerong, it has mainly done several aspects of work:
The first is to strengthen the establishment and management of designated hospitals for new crown pneumonia. Guide all localities to treat hospitals with strong comprehensive capabilities, high level of treatment and good infection prevention and control technology as designated hospitals, and concentrate on treating patients, and at the same time put forward the bed requirements for designated hospitals in cities with clear populations of different populations, for example, in principle, the total number of beds in designated hospitals in large cities with a permanent population of 1 million to 5 million in urban areas above the prefectural and municipal levels should be no less than 500, and the total number of beds in designated hospitals in megacities with 5 million to 10 million should not be less than 1,000, The total number of beds in designated hospitals in large cities with more than 10 million people should be no less than 1,500. Among them, the number of intensive care beds is not less than 10% of the total number of designated beds. In addition, it is required to set up a certain number of reserve designated hospitals in various places to ensure that they can be vacated and put into use within 24 hours when needed.
The second is to strengthen the management of the establishment of the square cabin hospital. Implement the construction and renovation of a number of square cabin hospitals for case grading treatment to ensure that they can be put into use within two days when necessary, and ensure that they should be collected and treated. As of April 25, there were nearly 400 square cabin hospitals that had been built or were under construction across the country, with a total of about 560,000 beds. In addition, there are clear requirements for the medical care ratio and the bed doctor ratio of the cabin hospital.
The third is to effectively improve the utilization rate of medical resources. Guide all localities to timely transfer patients with new crown pneumonia who meet the standards to the square cabin and designated hospitals to maximize the use of beds, and also require all localities to make overall plans for epidemic prevention and control and normal medical services.
In addition, since this period of time, we have also been strengthening the construction of ICU treatment, configuring corresponding treatment facilities and equipment, strengthening the training of medical personnel, timely revising and improving diagnosis and treatment specifications, widely using traditional Chinese medicine, strengthening emergency treatment plans, training drills, and strengthening emergency medical treatment material reserves.
Thank you.
compere
Deputy Director of the Information Bureau of the Information Office of the State Council and Press Spokesperson
Shou Xiaoli
One last question.
Shenzhen Satellite TV direct news reporter
We note that WHO recently stated that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to constitute a public health emergency of international concern and that a new round of outbreaks could erupt further in the fall, and advised countries to respond at any time. What are the mainland's targeted measures for epidemic prevention in autumn? Thank you.
Head of the Disease Control Bureau of the National Health Commission
Lei Zhenglong
Thank you for your question. We also note that in the statement of the 11th meeting of the IHR Emergency Committee issued by WHO on 13 April, it was determined that the COVID-19 pandemic remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The mainland is highly concerned about the global epidemic situation of the new crown pneumonia epidemic and the adjustment and change of the response strategies of WHO and various countries, and further improves the prevention and control policies and measures of the mainland. Autumn and winter is the high incidence season of respiratory infectious diseases, since 2020, according to the national new crown pneumonia epidemic prevention and control situation and changes in epidemic strains, we have guided all localities to improve the monitoring and early warning mechanism, strengthen the risk assessment and judgment of the epidemic, and further implement early detection, early reporting, early isolation, and early treatment, that is, various measures of "four early". Strengthen the prevention and control of key links, coordinate the prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic and other respiratory infectious diseases, and effectively respond to and deal with the epidemic in autumn and winter.
This year, we will continue to closely track the global COVID-19 situation and the mutation of virus strains, combine the changes in the situation of epidemic prevention and control in the mainland, further increase guidance to various localities, and prepare for the epidemic in autumn and winter. Thank you.
compere
Deputy Director of the Information Bureau of the Information Office of the State Council and Press Spokesperson
Shou Xiaoli
Thank you to the publishers, thank you to the journalists. Today's press conference ends here, goodbye.
Source: National Health Commission official website, China net
Editor: Yang Minghao