Under the assistance of the government, pharmaceutical enterprises are running at full capacity. China has also optimized the circulation of drugs, testing reagents and protective goods for better epidemic control. Authorities in many regions provided the elderly with free "health kits," which usually include fever drugs and other anti-epidemic items.

By the middle of December 2022, more than 3.47 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered on the Chinese mainland, with over 90 percent of the population fully vaccinated. A total of 86.6 percent of people aged 60 or above had been fully vaccinated and the rate among people aged 80 or older was 66.4 percent. China also vowed to further ramp up vaccination efforts aimed at the elderly.

Wang Huaqing, an expert from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), said the COVID-19 vaccines currently used in China are effective in preventing severe conditions and deaths. Data shows that during the epidemic outbreak period from March to June last year in Shanghai, compared with those who had not been vaccinated, the death risk of those over 60 who had received the booster doses of vaccines decreased by 98.08 percent.

The China CDC has also strengthened the monitoring of virus mutation nationwide. Each provincial-level region carries out genome sequencing and analysis every week and uploads the data in time in order to dynamically monitor virus subtypes.

FALLACY 2: "CHINA'S COVID RESPONSE A FAILURE"

During the past three years, China launched a war against COVID-19, effectively handled more than 100 cluster outbreaks, and protected the lives and health of more than 1.4 billion people to the greatest extent.

Every country would and should adjust its anti-COVID-19 policies according to the changing situation of the epidemic and go through periods of adaptation following such adjustments.