What lessons have the COVID-19 outbreak in megacities since spring taught us? see what the experts say

The spring of 2022 will not be easy! After the Spring Festival and now after the May Day holiday, many areas have stopped due to the epidemic caused by the Omicron variant. Even during the holidays, most people did not go out to play, but chose to stay at home, especially in Shanghai, Beijing and other megacities with a population of over 20 million.

Through the efforts of the government and the people, the volatility of the COVID-19 epidemic in China is gradually declining, but we have also received some inspiration from the COVID-19 epidemic in several major cities since the spring of this year.

What are the implications of this wave of COVID-19 outbreaks in megacities since spring?

1) The mutated virus strain of Omicron spreads fast and has strong concealment

The emergence of the Omicron variant has caught many cities off guard, although we have accumulated some experience in dealing with the original strain of the COVID-19 pneumonia virus, as well as Alpha, Delta and other variants. However, the Omicron variant spreads more strongly than the previous virus strain, and there are more asymptomatic infections, making the virus harder to detect and more hidden. Therefore, we cannot treat it with the previous style of play. Only faster and stronger than it can we surpass the virus and defeat the epidemic.

Like previous variants, Omicron is spread by inhalation, direct human-to-human contact, and contact with objects containing the virus, according to the CDC; anyone infected with a variant of Omicron can The virus spreads to other people, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or have no symptoms of the disease. Although it causes less severe symptoms than the Delta variant, the Omicron variant has similar or even greater dangers than the previous variant.

2) Go all out to achieve the "four should be done"

For the invasion of Omicron mutants, we must go all out to achieve the "four should be done", should be inspected, should be quarantined, should be collected, and should be treated. This is also the year of Wuhan in 2020. An experience formed by China's phased anti-epidemic victory since the epidemic. At the same time, in the process of fighting the epidemic, if these four points are not achieved, we are often in a passive situation of the spread of the epidemic. This reminds us that as long as the "four should be done", the chain of epidemic transmission can be quickly and effectively cut off , effectively protect the health of the people, including the effective implementation of medical treatment.

3) Vaccines are very important, especially for special groups such as the elderly and patients with underlying diseases

Although many of Omicron are mild or asymptomatic infections, the risk of severe illness or even death for special groups such as the elderly and patients with underlying diseases will also increase a lot. Vaccination is an important means of preventing virus infection and endangering severe disease and even death. We need to strengthen the vaccination of these special groups in order to effectively protect the health of the people.

The Covid-19 vaccine still plays a particularly important role as the best way to prevent people from contracting Covid-19 so far. Timely vaccine coverage not only helps protect human health from Covid-19, but also reduces the likelihood of new variants emerging. Vaccination is a method of generating active immunity by introducing antigens to stimulate the body to produce antibodies, strengthen the immune system, and reduce serious illness and mortality in patients. Especially for children, the elderly, people with underlying diseases, people with low immunity and other high-risk groups.

For the Omicron variant, scientists are still studying the vaccine's effectiveness in preventing infection with this variant. The current Covid-19 vaccine has been evaluated to still protect vaccinated people from severe illness requiring hospitalization and even death from infection with Omicron.

Therefore, everyone needs to inject booster needles in time.

Summarize

Judging from our experience in fighting the virus for more than two years, the sooner the epidemic is detected, the easier it will be to control. The COVID-19 pneumonia epidemic is not only a matter of the government and the community, but also a matter of the whole society. Therefore, as long as each of us is well protected, vaccinated, seek medical treatment in time if symptoms occur, and cooperate with the government’s arrangements, I believe that we can definitely win this battle. A battle against epidemic prevention.

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