At a press conference on March 29, Liu Renyuan, Deputy Secretary General of the municipal government of Changchun, capital of Jilin Province, expressed apologies for the grocery shortages related to lockdowns, and more specifically the closure of two vegetable wholesale markets during the city's most recent COVID-19 resurgence.

"We are particularly anxious and concerned and we want to express our sincerest apologies to the public for the inconvenience caused," Liu said.

Since early March, Changchun, with a population of over 8 million, has been tackling complex challenges brought on by the coronavirus' Omicron variant. At the height of this wave of infections, the city saw over 2,000 confirmed locally transmitted cases every day.

To contain the spread, residential communities in urban areas and villages were placed under lockdown. All public transportation services, including buses and taxis, were suspended. Several exhibition centers, sports centers and school buildings were transformed into temporary hospitals, housing tens of thousands of beds.

The overall number of cases has been on the decline thanks to relentless and strict efforts. In the face of food shortages, various government departments stepped up their efforts and increased supplies to ensure that more produce would be delivered to residential doorsteps every day.

"Although it's hard, staying home is the best way to protect ourselves from COVID-19. I understand the government is trying its best—despite the occasional yet understandable slipup, so I'm very willing to cooperate," Changchun retiree Li Wenbin told Beijing Review. After consuming most of his vegetable and fruit supplies, Li managed to buy produce packages via his contacts with the local residents' committee, a main body for community self-management.

"We will overcome all difficulties, do our best to ensure the people's wellbeing, and do everything within our power to meet the people's needs," Liu said.

Difficult, not daunting

China has reported COVID-19 resurgences across several provincial-level regions since March. Shanghai, a megalopolis with a population of over 24 million, has faced similar challenges. Free-of-charge citywide nucleic acid testing was carried out to track down possible infections and curb the spread of the virus as soon as possible.

COVID-19 antigen home test kits have been made available to the public in drug stores and on e-commerce platforms like Alibaba's Taobao, as a way to facilitate early virus detection, according to the National Health Commission (NHC).

After swabbing their nose or mouth, people can put their sample inside a tube containing special reagent and then onto a test strip—getting results within 20 minutes. At a cost of 20 yuan ($3.15) per kit, the self-test is recommended for those in lockdown showing symptoms like a cough or fever, Zhao Gang, head of the center for disease control and prevention in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, said.

The number of asymptomatic cases has boomed. "Though highly transmissive, the virulence of the Omicron variant is gradually decreasing, which explains the large number of asymptomatic infections," noted Chen Erzhen, in charge of medical treatment across the city's quarantine venues.

"Our precise control and testing for people in key areas have picked up the pace. When daily life slows down, the transmission of the virus, too, will decelerate," Zhang Wenhong, head of the infectious disease department at Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, said.

"COVID-19 is not all that frightening, but the battle against it is a tough one," Zhang, also Director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), wrote in a post on China's Twitter-like social media platform Sina Weibo on March 24, adding that Shanghai still has a host of challenges to deal with, including guaranteeing the convenience of life for those in lockdown.

"Preventing and controlling the epidemic will be a long-term process... It is necessary to not only control it, but to also safeguard people's livelihoods, keep the channels for medical treatment running smoothly, and simultaneously ensure the survival of small and micro private enterprises," Zhang wrote.

China will stick to its dynamic zero-COVID-19 policy, Liang Wannian, head of the NHC's COVID-19 leading task force, said at a news conference on March 22.

"China is capable of implementing its dynamic zero-COVID-19 policy courtesy of its effective control measures, high vaccination rate, rapid nucleic acid testing capability and the understanding and support of its population," Liang added.

Proposed in late 2021, the dynamic zero-COVID-19 policy intends to control and eliminate every incidence of coronavirus infection, entailing swift response, mass screening and large-scale vaccination. To be specific, this means that when a new local outbreak occurs, measures will be taken to promptly stem the spread of the virus and clear new infections. The idea is to cut off the spread of new infections as soon as possible, instead of risking the virus spinning out of control.

Liang said instead of living with COVID-19 or waiting for herd immunity, the latest modi operandi of numerous countries, China will stick to its own policy. "There are still vulnerable groups who have not yet received their second or booster jabs, impeding the creation of a strong immunity barrier," he said.

"Therefore, at this stage, we insist on this general policy; it is our best option and runs in line with the country's actual situation," Liang added.

Protecting the vulnerable

In this wave of infections, the vast majority of young people who have been fully vaccinated can tide over safely; some hospitalized patients and seniors who have not yet been vaccinated, are still at high risk of developing severe symptoms,according to Zhang.

About 212 million of all 264 million Chinese seniors aged 60 and above have been fully vaccinated, Wang Huaqing, chief immunization expert with China CDC, said at a press conference on March 25.

"I got vaccinated early last year because I believe it is the most effective way to protect people like me," Liu Meifu, a 79-year-old retired doctor in Yantai, Shandong Province, told Beijing Review.

Wang added there are, as of yet, no statistics to support the speculation that seniors aged 80 and above have a higher chance of experiencing adverse effects from inoculation.

Some elderly are reluctant to get vaccinated because they are concerned their body won't be able to handle any side effects that might occur, including fever, headaches and injection-site pain. But most of the time such temporary reactions do not require any medical intervention, according to Wang. In extremely rare cases, a vaccine recipient may suffer anaphylaxis, involving hives, swelling and a sudden drop in blood pressure, as part of a serious allergic reaction.

Wang said this condition typically occurs within 30 minutes after inoculation, and health workers at vaccination sites are well-prepared to handle it—should it occur.

Full vaccination can effectively reduce COVID-19 hospitalization, severe cases and fatalities, and therefore remains a key measure in the fight against the pandemic, Lei Zhenglong, deputy head of the Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control with the NHC, said.

According to the commission, as of March 30, China had administered over 3.26 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and over 1.24 billion people had been fully vaccinated, accounting for 88 percent of the population. More than 671 million people had received booster shots, over 12 million of whom had received a heterologous vaccine, meaning their booster shot uses a different type of vaccine compared to their initial jabs.

"But because many seniors have underlying health conditions, they do run a higher risk of becoming severely ill and dying from COVID-19—compared with other age groups. It is simply necessary for people to get their vaccinations and booster shots," Lei concluded.

(Print Edition Title: On Guard, En Garde!)

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon

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