China tests entire city for the virus as WHO slams herd immunity idea
13 October, 2020
China rushed on Tuesday (Oct 13) to check an entire city of nine million within days after a minor coronavirus outbreak, as the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that letting the pathogen run free to achieve herd immunity was "scientifically and ethically problematic".
The virus continues to be spreading rapidly around the world, with more than 37 million infections, and nations that had suppressed their first outbreaks are actually fighting fresh surges - especially in a few parts of Europe.
In the lack of a vaccine, governments are cautious with allowing the virus to spread unchecked, with China launching a sweeping drive to check all residents of Qingdao after a handful of cases were detected on Sunday.
"As of 8 am ... our city has taken 3.08 million samples for nucleic testing," the city's health commission said on Tuesday, adding that no new positive samples were found.
Chinese officials plan to test the complete city - around 9.4 million persons - by Thursday.
In scenes contrasting with the fumbled testing efforts of other nations, health workers in protective clothing swiftly create tents and residents queued deep into Monday night to supply samples.
HERD IMMUNITY
In opposition to economically painful lockdowns and social distancing, there were proposals in some countries to let the coronavirus circulate in the populace to develop "herd immunity" - where so a lot of the population has been infected there are insufficient new victims for the virus to jump to.
However the World Health Organization said such plans were unworkable, and required mass vaccinations to work.
"Herd immunity is achieved by protecting people from a virus, not by exposing them to it," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday, describing the theory as "scientifically and ethically problematic".
"Allowing a dangerous virus that people don't fully understand to run free is merely unethical. It's not an option."
Further illustrating the challenge, a report published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal indicated that contact with the virus might not exactly guarantee future immunity -- and the second infection could come with even more extreme symptoms.
VACCINE SETBACK
The pandemic has claimed more than one million lives worldwide and spurred breakneck efforts to build up vaccines and effective treatments.
Some have managed to get to late-stage clinical testing, however, the optimism was dented on Monday when Johnson & Johnson announced it had temporarily halted its 60,000-patient trial because of unexplained illness in a single participant.
There are ten organizations conducting Phase 3 trials of their prospects globally, including Johnson & Johnson.
The pharma giant has been awarded about US$1.45 billion in US funding under Operation Warp Speed, championed by President Donald Trump, who's keen for a political boost prior to the November election with a coronavirus breakthrough.
Critics have excoriated Trump for his handling of the crisis, with more known infections and deaths in the United States than anywhere else in the world.
Trump was sidelined from the campaign trail for 10 days after he got Covid-19 but returned to the stage on Monday.
"I experienced it and now they say I'm immune... I feel so powerful," Trump told a cheering crowd in Florida, few of whom wore masks.
His claim of immunity is unproven.
"CATASTROPHIC, CATASTROPHIC"
European nations are trying to contain new surges in infections, and governments are rolling out tighter restrictions to avoid the devastation of the earlier outbreaks.
Cases have soared in France, Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic in recent days.
And there has also been a spike in Britain, which has the highest death toll in Europe.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered pubs in Liverpool to shut within a new strategy to tackle a surge in infections.
He said businesses forced to close would get support from the federal government, but his focus on shutting hospitality venues sparked anger.
"Catastrophic, catastrophic," said Simon Ashdown, owner of the Chepstow Castle pub in Liverpool.
"I don't believe there'll be many businesses following this lockdown."
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