There's sadly a very good chance that China is about to turn into a massive morgue and a SARS-CoV-2 variant factory. It's not because Omicron is unstoppable, it's because the west decided to #letitrip, making it harder and harder to prevent outbreaks.
While compared to Europe, China currently looks like this - 
The problem is when you look closer -
And we can see what has happened in Hong Kong, where it should in theory be much easier to control.
Most horrifying though, is this curve. Hong Kong has recorded the highest rolling per capita death toll *of the entire pandemic*
Why? China and Hong Kong have both done relatively well with vaccine rollouts. The #letitrip brigade will have you believe lack of prior infections is the problem.
This of course is a nonsense argument, which suggests it better that people die earlier than later - the antithesis of medicine and disease control.
The reality is that Sinovac, the Chinese vaccine, appears to protect very poorly against recent variants.
hongkongfp.com/2022/02/26/fac…
The reality is that Sinovac, the Chinese vaccine, appears to protect very poorly against recent variants.
hongkongfp.com/2022/02/26/fac…
Will it work? I hope so. If Omicron rips through a Sinovac vaccinated population of more than a billion, China is going to be in a lot of trouble ... and if you thought the Russian invasion of Ukraine was causing global trade issues, this will make it pale in to insignificance.
The problem is of course - the West pretty much insists that China gets infected sooner or later. We've decided waves of virus, potentially multiple times a year, is the way forward, with more chances for new, worse variants, and more and more people with Long Covid.
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