Dynamic zero-COVID strategy brings best outcomes at lowest cost, expert says

The Omicron strain of the COVID-19 virus should not be treated like influenza because it can quickly run rampant with its high transmissibility and stealthy transmission, posing particularly severe risks to the elderly, a senior expert said on Sunday.

As the novel coronavirus will likely acquire more dangerous mutations in the future, adhering to the dynamic zero-COVID strategy remains the best option for China, including for Shanghai, which has reached an acute phase of the fight against the disease, said Liang Wannian, a member of an expert panel sent to Shanghai by the State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism.

"The recent round of outbreaks driven by the Omicron variant should not be handled as a flu epidemic," Liang said during an interview. "It spreads faster and in a more covert way than the flu virus, increasing the danger of causing a large-scale transmission."

The overall fatality rate of Omicron is higher than that of seasonal flu, he said. Among people age 80 and older, its mortality rate jumps to 10 times higher than that of the flu.

"Another key feature of the virus is that it is constantly evolving, and we are unsure what future mutations might be like," he said. "If the virus mutates into a more harmful form, it will pose greater risks to our health."

Zhang Wenhong, head of the infectious disease department at Fudan University's Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, also called for more attention to be given to protecting the most vulnerable groups during the epidemic.

"We medical experts have devoted great efforts to monitoring and caring for elderly people who have not been vaccinated and have underlying illnesses," he said in an article published by People's Daily on Saturday.

Global data has shown that elderly people who have not been vaccinated are the group most vulnerable to COVID-19, he said. "I've emphasized that Omicron is not a powerful flu, and it strikes, strikes particularly hard the elderly who are not protected by vaccines," he said.

Zhang said the pressing task now is to contain the epidemic in Shanghai and cut off transmission in communities so normal life and production can resume.

"Achieving dynamic clearance will also help restore normal medical services and allow other patients, especially those in severe condition, to access adequate care," he said.

Shanghai still faces a grim struggle in fighting the virus. The latest National Health Commission data showed that daily infections keep rising in the city. On Saturday, 1,006 confirmed, locally transmitted infections and nearly 24,000 asymptomatic infections were registered.

Zhang said the rapid spread of Omicron has also highlighted the urgency to step up preparedness for future potential outbreaks, such as ramping up booster vaccinations among the elderly, increasing supplies of drugs and accelerating construction of quarantine facilities.