2.1 million Chinese will be at risk, if zero-COVID-19 policy is lifted

Beijing, Dec 21: If China lifts its zero-COVID-19 policy between 1.3 and 2.1 million lives could be at risk, a report has said.

The London-based global health intelligence and analytics firm Airfinity said that Mainland China has very low levels of immunity across its population. Its citizens were vaccinated with domestically produced Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines which have proven to provide less protection against infection and death.

It also said that China's zero-COVID-19 strategy also means that the population has almost no naturally acquired immunity through the previous infection.

"As a result of these factors, our analysis shows if mainland China sees a similar wave to Hong Kong's in February, its healthcare system could be pushed to capacity as there could be between 167 and 279 million cases nationwide, which could lead to between 1.3 and 2.1 million deaths," the report said.

Dr. Louis Blair, the head of vaccines and epidemiology, Airfinity said that it is essential that China ramps up vaccinations to increase the immunity in order to lift its zero-COVIID-19 policy, especially since there is a larger elderly population. "Subsequently, China would need hybrid immunity to allow for the country to brace future waves with minimal impact," he said.

He added that this has proven effective in other countries and regions. While Hong Kong efforts to vaccinate the vulnerable prior to opening likely only dampened the impact of its first wave, its protection has been enhanced by hybrid immunity from mass infection leading to much less impactful and deadly COVID-19 waves," he said.

Chinese health authorities on Monday announced two COVID-19 related deaths, both in Beijing. The city is experiencing its worst outbreak since the beginning of COVID-19.

Since the easing of restrictions, these were the first officially reported deaths, a CNN report said. Last week many social media posts had spoken about the stress that is being added on the crematoriums and funeral homes in the country.