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"I know COVID is not so 'horrifying' now, but it is still contagious and will hurt," said one post on the Weibo platform. But, while announcing the implementation of the new measures late on Wednesday, some cities urged residents to remain vigilant. It urged residents to wear masks, maintain social distancing, seek medical attention for fever and other COVID symptoms and, especially for the elderly, to get vaccinated. "It (China) may have to pay for its procrastination on embracing a 'living with Covid' approach," Nomura analysts said in a note on Thursday. Infection rates in China are only around 0.13%, "far from the level needed for herd immunity", Nomura said.

☆ Factbox: How many people might die, and why, if China loosens COVID restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Thomas PeterSHANGHAI, Dec 3 (Reuters) - China has started taking steps to ease its zero-COVID policy, fuelling a mix of relief and worry as the public waits to see the health consequences, and impact on the medical system, of a full-blown exit. Researchers have analysed how many deaths the country could see if it pivots to a full reopening, with most pointing to the country's relatively low vaccination rates and lack of herd immunity as some of its most vulnerable spots. As of Friday, China reported 5,233 COVID-related deaths and 331,952 cases with symptoms. They forecasted that peak demand on intensive care would be more than 15 times capacity, causing roughly 1.5 million deaths, based on worldwide data gathered about the variant's severity. The company said it modelled its data on Hong Kong's BA.1 wave in February, which occurred after the city eased restrictions after two years.

☆ Inside China's fight over the future of zero-COVID
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

After nearly three years, a significant loosening of zero-COVID measures has been signalled by senior government officials and public health experts. Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said on Thursday that China's health system had "withstood the test" of COVID, allowing further adjustments to state policies. "You can have zero-COVID, but you can't have a healthy economy, and you can have a healthy economy, but you can't have zero-COVID." Laura Yasaitis, a public health expert at the Eurasia Group think-tank who follows China's zero-COVID policies, said fear of the virus likely varied widely across the country, as well as within cities or provinces. Officials have repeatedly said that China's health system would be unable to cope with a surge in cases, with medical resources unevenly distributed across the country.

☆ China Plans Covid Vaccination Drive for the Elderly in Bid to Ease Pandemic Controls
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Raffaele Huang | Cao Li | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—China is planning a Covid-19 vaccination campaign for the elderly in December and January, part of its effort to be able to ease its zero-Covid policy, public-health officials familiar with the plan said, as outbreaks hit records and protests denouncing rigid pandemic controls spread. China aims to inoculate 90% of people aged 80 and above with at least one shot by the end of January, said the officials, who work at local branches of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and received instructions from Beijing. That rate is currently at 77%, according to government data.

☆ China to hold weekly COVID control press briefing on Tuesday
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Nov 29 (Reuters) - China will hold a press conference on COVID prevention and control measures at 3 p.m. (0700 GMT) on Tuesday amid record COVID infections and protests in Shanghai and Beijing. The Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council will invite experts of the National Health Commission and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to introduce the implementation of COVID prevention and control measures to effectively hand the epidemic, the government said. The joint prevention body typically holds a press briefing once a week. China on Tuesday reported a decline in new COVID-19 infections for Nov. 28, posting 38,645 cases, after a record daily high of 40,347 cases on the previous day. read moreThe country has been roiled by weekend protests in Shanghai and Beijing, after crowds there and in other Chinese cities demonstrated against China's stringent zero-COVID measures.

☆ U.S. criticizes China's zero Covid strategy, says Beijing needs to boost vaccination among elderly
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The White House on Monday criticized Beijing's zero Covid strategy as ineffective and said the Chinese people have a right to peacefully protest. "We've said that zero COVID is not a policy we pursuing here in the United States," the NSC spokesperson said. Vaccination rates among the elderly, one of the groups most vulnerable to Covid, are low in China compared to other countries. Dr. Ashish Jha, head of the White House Covid task force, said China should focus on making sure the elderly get vaccinated. Lockdowns and zero COVID is going to be very difficult to sustain," Jha told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday.

Easing Covid measures means accepting a rise in cases that is likely to get worse as winter approaches. Residents buy medications at a pharmacy in Shijiazhuang, China, last week. “There will always be complaints.”Though many people in China still support “zero-Covid,” the strict measures have also stoked growing resentment. China is thus now facing a dual challenge, said Donald Low, a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “You’re going to see the Hong Kong story played out on a much larger scale” in mainland China, Low said.

☆ China reports 24,473 new COVID cases; some Beijing businesses shut
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Numerous businesses in Beijing's Chaoyang district, the capital's main business and diplomatic area, have shut or announced only limited services. Beijing reported 79 symptomatic and 436 asymptomatic cases for Friday, down from 100 symptomatic and 366 asymptomatic cases the previous day, government data showed. Nationwide, the authorities reported 24,263 daily domestically transmitted cases, of which 2,055 were symptomatic and 22,208 were asymptomatic, down from 25,129 the previous day. Guangzhou, a city in the south of nearly 19 million people, reported 269 new domestically transmitted symptomatic cases and 8,444 asymptomatic cases, compared with 255 symptomatic and 8,989 asymptomatic cases a day before, authorities said. The manufacturing hub of Zhengzhou reported 182 new symptomatic locally transmitted COVID infections and 1,385 asymptomatic cases, compared with 107 symptomatic and 1,556 asymptomatic cases a day before, according to government data.

☆ China to speed up vaccinations, build more designated COVID hospitals
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Nov 17 (Reuters) - China plans to speed up COVID-19 vaccinations and will release information to the public in due course, the head of China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday. Shen Hongbing made the comments at a regular National Health Commission (NHC) news conference when asked if foreign vaccines would become available. read moreAuthorities highlighted the need to build more designated COVID hospitals and increase the number of beds in intensive care units. "ICU beds need to account for 10% of total beds," NHC official Guo Yanhong said. Several cities where cases are rising like Guangzhou and Beijing are conducting mass-testing but other cities have pulled back on testing.

☆ Here's what we know about the rebound in Chinese stocks this week
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING — Chinese stocks rallied this week as investors hoped Beijing would soon relax its stringent Covid policy. The Chinese government has yet to announce any official policy change. However, the stock rally that accelerated Friday followed multiple unconfirmed rumors of a coming Covid policy change. Zhang pointed to a closed-door speech Friday morning by a chief scientist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention that suggested a transition away from zero-Covid policy could happen soon. The disease control center and National Health Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted Thursday in favor of adding the Covid vaccine to the recommended immunization schedule for children and adults. The decision to officially add Covid vaccination to the schedule now goes to the CDC. The recommended immunization schedule is not a vaccine mandate. For example, the CDC added the HPV vaccine to the recommended schedule in 2006. The CDC's recommended vaccination schedule also provides guidance to insurance providers, which tend to cover vaccines on the list.

☆ U.S. CDC advisers approve adding COVID shots to vaccine schedules
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory committee on vaccines on Thursday approved adding COVID-19 vaccines to the agency's recommended immunization schedules for both children and adults. Several committee members stressed that they were not setting a requirement for anyone to receive the shots. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe CDC has recommended that Americans over 6 months of age should receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The CDC stressed that the annual schedules reflect recommendations already approved by ACIP and do not reflect new policies. On Wednesday, ACIP recommended that COVID-19 shots become part of the CDC's vaccine program for children, which provides many types of free inoculations to millions of kids each year.

☆ Covid-19 vaccines will be on the 2023 vaccine schedule, but that doesn’t mean they’re required in schools
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Covid-19 vaccines will be part of recommended immunization schedules in 2023 for both children and adults, after a unanimous vote by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The board members addressed concerns from the public that adding Covid-19 vaccinations to the schedule would force schools to require the shots. This discussion does not change that.”In fact, Covid-19 vaccines are explicitly banned from being included in school mandates in at least 20 states. “Mandates may not do anything to those people who would pull their kids out of public school,” Hackell said. Schools are public spaces with a level of control, and 95% vaccination coverage is a goal with intent.

☆ With no monkeypox vaccine at home, frustrated Mexicans go abroad
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Brendan O'Boyle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MEXICO CITY, Oct 17 (Reuters) - As monkeypox continues to impact gay and bisexual men in dozens of countries around the world, at-risk Mexicans are going abroad for vaccines they say their government has not bothered to make available at home. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterHerbel, 38, said he wanted the vaccine because half of his friends currently have or have had monkeypox. Mexico City resident Juan David Zuluaga, 32, flew to Tijuana last week to get vaccinated across the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego. Mexico's government has reported 2,147 confirmed cases of monkeypox since May, a number advocates in the gay community say far undercounts cases. "Those with visas and money will get vaccinated and those without will have to resign themselves to eventually getting monkeypox," Baruch said.

☆ Hair-straightening products linked with uterine cancer risk -study
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Nancy Lapid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 17 (Reuters) - Hair-straightening products may significantly increase the risk of developing uterine cancer among those who use them frequently, a large study published on Monday suggests. Uterine cancer is a relatively rare type of cancer," she added. Less frequent straightener use in the past year also was associated with an elevated uterine cancer risk, but the difference was not statistically significant, meaning it might have been due to chance. "These findings are the first epidemiologic evidence of association between use of straightening products and uterine cancer," White and colleagues wrote in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The link between straightener use and uterine cancer did not differ by race in the study.

☆ The side effects to expect after getting an Omicron booster — and what happens if you get a flu shot at the same time
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Andrea Michelson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Side effects of the latest COVID-19 booster are similar to those associated with previous doses. Health officials say it's safe to get your flu shot and COVID booster shot at the same visit. You can get a COVID-19 booster and a flu shot at the same timeThe CDC recommends that everyone over the age of 12 top off their COVID protection with a bivalent booster shot this season, especially if it has been more than two months since their previous dose. With the flu season approaching as well, some people may opt to get their boosters and flu vaccines in one visit. In a press conference in September, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha said, "God gave us two arms—one for the flu shot and the other one for the COVID shot."

☆ Monkeypox in China: Don't touch foreigners, says senior health official after first case emerges
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-18 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A top Chinese health official has warned people against touching foreigners, a day after mainland China confirmed its first case of monkeypox. Cases of monkeypox, which causes flu-like symptoms and blister-like lesions, began emerging around the world in May. “It’s good to open the country’s door, but we can’t just let everything in,” one Weibo user wrote. “We are willing to buy car insurance in case of accidents, but we will not refuse to drive,” one person wrote. “We will wear face masks to prevent catching Covid, but we will not refuse to go outside.”Another user, responding to Wu’s guidance, was more blunt: “After how the Covid-19 pandemic was handled, can you still trust him?”

☆ One millionaire landlord was behind half of Milwaukee's evictions during Covid lockdowns last June. Here's the story of how corporate landlords helped drive the evictions crisis
▼ + stars: | 2021-03-26 | by ( Abigail Higgins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +23 min

Corporate landlords in cities like Milwaukee helped drive an evictions crisis during the pandemic. Corporate landlords, which own almost 50% of rental properties, are more likely to evict, advocates say. Before the 2008 recession, corporate landlords owned 20% of rental properties; today, it's nearing a whopping 50%. Since the Center for Disease Control's evictions moratorium took effect last September, evictions by corporate landlords have actually been steadily increasing. There is no national database of evictions, and evictions are only tracked at the level of the country's more than 3,000 counties.

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