China is facing an alarming challenge with a new wave of Covid-19 infections, which could result in up to 65 million cases a week by the end of June.
See too: A giant concrete dam in China impacts Earth's rotation
see more
Alert: THIS poisonous plant landed a young man in the hospital
Google develops AI tool to help journalists in…
This worrisome scenario was predicted by renowned respiratory disease expert Zhong Nanshan during a biotechnology conference in Guangzhou.
That estimate gives us a rare glimpse into the potential impact of the latest omicron variant, known as XBB, which has caused a resurgence in cases across China since late April.
According to a Bloomberg report, the XBB variant is expected to be responsible for 40 million weekly infections by the end of May, reaching its peak with 65 million cases a month later.
This situation comes approximately six months after Beijing eased its restrictions on the model. “Covid Zero”, thus allowing the virus to spread rapidly among the 1.4 billion inhabitants from the country.
In response to this new reality of living with the virus, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention stopped the weekly update of its statistics earlier this month, raising questions about the true impact of Covid-19 on China.
Zhong's forecast suggests that this new wave of infections will be less intense compared to the previous wave that hit China late last year and in January.
At that time, a different strain of the omicron variant was infecting an estimated 37 million people daily, overwhelming hospitals and crematoria and creating drug shortages.
In response to the new threat, China is rushing to bolster its vaccine arsenal with new immunizations specific to the XBB variant.
The country's drug regulator has already granted preliminary approval for two such vaccines, with another three or four expected to be approved soon. “We can lead internationally in the development of more effective vaccines,” said Zhong.
Recently, a World Health Organization advisory group (WHO) recommended updating this year's Covid-19 vaccine booster doses in order to target XBB.1.5 variants and other dominant strains. These new formulas should stimulate the production of specific antibodies against the variants.
Furthermore, the group suggested no longer including the original strain of Covid-19 in future vaccines, as it is no longer circulating and doses directed at it produce low or undetectable levels of neutralizing antibodies against the variants currently being tested. circulation.
Renowned vaccine manufacturers such as Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna Inc and Novavax Inc are already developing updated versions of their vaccines to combat the variants.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also has a meeting scheduled for June with external experts to discuss Covid-19 vaccine compositions for the remainder of this year. Vaccine manufacturers are expected to update their doses once strains are selected.
As China prepares to face this new wave of infections, it remains uncertain how effective these new vaccines will be in curbing the spread of the XBB variant. With millions of cases expected each week, it is clear that the fight against Covid-19 is far from over.
