Frontline of Epidemic Prevention | Is the ninth edition of the prevention and control plan still effective? Can vaccination wait? ... The authoritative answer is here!

On August 10, the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council held a press conference at the National Health Commission. Relevant officials from the relevant departments of the National Health Commission and relevant experts from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention attended the press conference to introduce the recent epidemic prevention and control work.

Is the ninth edition of the prevention and control plan still effective against Omicron?

△Dong Xiaoping, chief virologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

At present, all localities are following the requirements of the new version of the prevention and control plan, focusing on rapid and accurate risk control and active response. It can be seen that almost every outbreak can be effectively controlled in a short period of time, indicating that the "New Coronavirus Pneumonia Prevention and Control Plan (9th Edition)" is effective against the Omicron variant.

According to domestic and foreign research, the epidemic characteristics and transmission characteristics of the Omicron BA.5 variant have not changed fundamentally compared to other Omicron strains, but compared to the BA.2 strain that was prevalent earlier, its transmission ability is indeed slightly enhanced. More importantly, its immune escape ability has been significantly enhanced, and the risk of reinfection has increased, which has brought greater difficulty and challenges to prevention and control work.

Can vaccination wait?

△Wang Huaqing, chief expert of immunization program of China Center for Disease Control and Prevention

At present, some countries, including my country, have also carried out the research and development of new vaccines. Through the research and development of new vaccines, it is expected that the vaccine can play a role in blocking infection. In addition, it can improve the durability of immune protection and reduce the phenomenon of immune escape caused by virus mutation. Among them, the research and development of vaccines including the Omicron variant is also in progress. In the future, there may be single vaccines or combined vaccines. However, vaccine development, especially new vaccine development, takes time, and there are also some uncertainties in the research and development process. The vaccines we are currently using are significantly effective in preventing severe illness and death. In this case, completing the full course of vaccination and booster shots can effectively prevent severe illness and death. At present, the Omicron variant is very contagious. In this case, once an epidemic occurs, the harm to the elderly who have not been vaccinated is relatively serious. Therefore, it is recommended that eligible elderly people should be vaccinated as soon as possible and complete the booster shot at the prescribed interval.

Will shortening the tracing time for centralized quarantine exacerbate the spread of the epidemic?

△Han Mengjie, Director of the STD and AIDS Prevention and Control Center of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

In order to further improve the scientificity and accuracy of the COVID-19 prevention and control measures, the Comprehensive Group of the State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism carried out a pilot study on optimizing the COVID-19 prevention and control measures in some parts of the country from April to May 2022. The study found that the average incubation period of the Omicron variant was shortened, mostly to 2-4 days; most of them can be detected within 7 days.

Based on the research results and prevention and control practices in many places in China, the ninth edition of the prevention and control plan optimizes the control cycle of inbound personnel, close contacts, and medium- and high-risk areas. It takes into account the best prevention and control effect at the lowest cost and price, and determines the centralized isolation, medium- and high-risk control time, and the traceability time from medium- and high-risk areas, all of which are set at 7 days. It also determines that high-risk areas will adopt the lockdown measures of "staying at home and providing door-to-door service", and medium-risk areas will adopt the control measures of "no one leaving the area, staggered collection of items". During the lockdown period, nucleic acid testing will be carried out scientifically in accordance with the requirements of the prevention and control plan.

For special personnel such as risk personnel who have not yet been transferred, those who have tested positive for antigen, those who are awaiting review for nucleic acid mixed test positive, patients with limited mobility, and the elderly, door-to-door sampling and testing will be implemented. For buildings and courtyards where positive infections have been found, door-to-door sampling should be implemented, and optimization can also be made according to actual conditions, with antigen testing first, and then nucleic acid testing arranged in an orderly manner after negative results. For non-home testing, it is clear that on-site organization and management must be strengthened, with dedicated personnel to guide, time and area divisions, fixed routes, and personal protection to prevent cross infection.

These measures have been proven to be very effective in a large number of practices. On the basis of strictly implementing the above-mentioned community personnel control and nucleic acid monitoring, shortening the control period will not increase the risk of epidemic transmission.

What is the progress in promoting nationwide mutual recognition of nucleic acid test results?

△Mi Feng, spokesperson of the National Health Commission and deputy director of the Publicity Department

Since the issuance of the "Notice on Further Promoting the National Mutual Recognition of COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Test Results", various places have quickly organized and implemented it. Some places have innovated and explored some ways of mutual communication and recognition to further facilitate the use of the people. For example, some places have added the function of querying nucleic acid test results in other provinces and cities and uploading them to the health treasure, some have launched the related services of nucleic acid information, and some can switch the nucleic acid test databases in the province and the whole country at any time. These practices are all for the convenience of the people, and they are currently progressing smoothly.

Next, the National Health Commission will further improve the timeliness of information sharing, optimize and improve health code management, and facilitate safe and orderly travel for the public. If you encounter a situation where nucleic acid test results are not mutually recognized, you can report it through the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council and the public message boards set up in various places. Media friends are also welcome to supervise the implementation together.

Is it necessary for elderly people who stay at home for a long time to get vaccinated?

△Wang Huaqing, chief expert of immunization program of China Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Staying at home for a long time and rarely going out does not mean that there is no risk of infection. Because when we are at home, the elderly have to contact with their families, and in nursing homes, they have to contact with service personnel. In particular, the Omicron variant mentioned just now is the dominant strain currently prevalent. It is characterized by fast transmission speed, high transmission intensity, and hidden transmission process. Compared with some previous new coronaviruses, once there is an infectious source, the risk of infection is increasing, especially for the elderly. The country has been advocating vaccination for the elderly. With the efforts of all parties, the vaccination rate of the elderly has increased significantly. In particular, in some areas with high vaccination rates, the vaccination rate of the elderly has exceeded 90%. However, we have also seen that the vaccination rate in some areas is low, and the vaccination rate of the elderly is less than 70%. In this case, once the new coronavirus spreads or becomes popular, the risk of severe illness or even death for the elderly who have not been vaccinated, especially the elderly, is still very high.

Vaccination against the new coronavirus is a very good measure to prevent severe illness and death. First, vaccination against the new coronavirus is effective in preventing severe illness and death. Second, vaccination is simpler and easier than other measures to prevent and control the new coronavirus. Third, vaccination against the new coronavirus can improve the specific immunity of the elderly.

A large number of studies have shown that if not vaccinated, the elderly who are infected with the new coronavirus will have a higher incidence of severe illness, death, and admission to the ICU. Therefore, we recommend that elderly people who have not been vaccinated or have not completed the full course of vaccination and booster shots, as long as they are not within the scope of contraindications and are not candidates for delayed vaccination, should be vaccinated as soon as possible.

How to deal with the dual epidemic risks of influenza and COVID-19?

△Dong Xiaoping, chief virologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

At present, the world is still in the COVID-19 pandemic, so there is a risk of overlapping epidemics of influenza and COVID-19 in this autumn and winter or winter and spring. In response to this risk, we have taken a series of measures, such as: long-term monitoring of the activity levels and characteristics of influenza and COVID-19. Our country's influenza monitoring is at the forefront of the world, and sentinel hospitals, monitoring outlets, and laboratories are among the best in the world. Dynamic risk assessment and timely release of early warning information; in fever clinics, we must screen and triage patients with fever, and promptly identify and diagnose influenza and COVID-19; once an epidemic occurs, the local area will adopt some necessary public health measures based on the risk assessment of the epidemic, whether it is COVID-19 or influenza. While preventing and controlling COVID-19, it can also effectively reduce the spread of influenza; actively promote influenza vaccination. This year, our country's influenza vaccine batch issuance is relatively early, and it is recommended that all localities make timely preparations for influenza vaccination.

As autumn and winter are approaching, we call on the public to take good care of respiratory infectious diseases and get flu vaccinations before the flu season arrives, especially for the elderly and medical workers. If you have flu-like symptoms such as fever, dry cough, and fatigue, you should seek medical attention in time. You should also take good personal protection measures, including washing hands frequently, wearing masks in a scientific and standardized manner, ventilating frequently, and avoiding gatherings.