Posted: September 9th, 2022

Policy Paper 2: “Policy Recommendations to China on Stopping and Treating Corona Virus”

Policy Paper 2: “Policy Recommendations to China on Stopping and Treating Corona Virus”
Executive Summary
Since its outbreak in Wuhan, China, the novel Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, disrupted the lives of people in many nations. It has caused the deaths of more than 2.6 M people globally and infected more than 120M (CDC). Since China is the country where the COVID-19 virus outbreak originated from and with a population of more than 1 billion people, the world is watching its every move with respect to stopping and treating the virus. China’s goal should be that of avoiding immunity gap in regards to other countries. It should work towards mass inoculation of its vast population.
Background
In December 2019, China reported its first human case of COVID-19 in Wuhan. It was discovered that many of the earliest patients had a connection to the Wuhan market as they were either stall owners, employees in the market, or had been to the market (Zhou and Xin 39). Upon further follow-up where samples from the wet market were taken, the samples tested positive for the novel virus leading to the market’s closure on January 1st, 2020. Following Wuhan’s market closure, the COVID-19 human genetic sequence was studied, and it was established that the virus first originated from a bat. It was a case of the animal to human transmission and not a laboratory creation. Considering there is very minimal human contact with bats, it is believed that the bat infected a domestic or a wild, domesticated animal, which in turn transmitted the virus to a human. The novel virus, which is a highly communicable disease, is spread through contact with an infected person’s droplets, especially from coughing or sneezing or touching contaminated surfaces (WHO 3). Its symptoms include fever, cough, tiredness, and in severe cases, difficulty in breathing. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Novel Coronavirus a global pandemic on March 11, 2020.
China recognized the virus as an outbreak of global proportions on 22 January 2020 after it met with WHO. Immediately, it took stringent measures to contain and hamper the spread of the virus. It adopted policies, such as restriction of movement in and out of Wuhan and subsequently the whole country, social distancing, use of masks, isolation of the infected people, and contact tracing (Zhou and Xin 41). It built new hospitals within days to cater to the demand. In addition to this, China’s government rolled out massive efforts to disinfect its entire cities and public places. As of today, China has adopted many measures to try and bring life back to normalcy. Some of the approaches include mass testing, temperature checks in public places, use of sanitizers and masks, and manufacture and rolling out vaccines. Throughout all the measures pursued, the government has shown solidarity in its quest to protect the lives of the citizens. China now aims to vaccinate half of its population in four months and supply about 463 million doses of vaccinations through export and donations (Yang et al. 4). Since COVID-19 has no cure, vaccination is the best option to end the pandemic.
Issue Framing
China, a country of more than 1 billion people, has been progressively working towards the manufacture of vaccines and inoculation of its populace. Most western countries’ citizens were infected and have either developed antibodies through herd immunity or vaccinations. Courtesy of China’s aggressive measures, very few of its people have been infected and consequently developed antibodies (Yang et al. 6). China has also been accused of slacking off in the production of vaccines. Its immunization drives are falling far much behind Israel and United States despite the fact that it got an early start. Such a difference is extremely dangerous as it could lead to an immunity gap, which could have devastating effects as it can potentially cause another outbreak in the country.
Policy Options
To meet its goal of vaccinating more than half of its population in four months, China could scale up its vaccines production. However, the downside to this is that more production does not translate to ready-to-use vaccines, as the batch will have to undergo several tests to make sure it is up to standard. Additionally, China could solicit help from other countries who could help fill the vials and syringes with vaccines. However, the country would still not scale up in the production due to a shortage of raw materials.
Policy Recommendation
To achieve its goal of vaccinating half its people in four months and offer donations and exports, China should first concentrate on vaccinating its people before embarking on the donations and exports. It should consider this a race against time to avoid an immunity gap and risk yet another outbreak as the majority of people remain greatly vulnerable. It is paramount that China imports more vaccines from countries such as Germany and Russia.

Conclusion
The new Coronavirus has wreaked havoc across the globe after its first case was confirmed in December 2019. While China has managed to deter the spread of the virus, other countries are not as successful, which has led to rapid spread of the virus and subsequently more deaths. At the same time, the countries that did not install strict measures have managed to have large number of their populations develop antibodies through herd immunity or vaccines. China’s vigorous measures taken to deter the virus have left a large population of its people still at risk. To win the war against immunity gap and eventually contain COVID-19, it is important for China to show willingness to supplement its locally produced vaccine with imported ones.

Works Cited
CDC. Global COVID-19. 2021 Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/global-COVID-19/index.html [Accessed 19 March 2021]
World Health Organization. “Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): situation report, 82.” (2020).
Yang, Juan, et al. “Who should be prioritized for COVID-19 vaccination in China? A descriptive study.” BMC medicine 19.1 (2021): 1-13.
Zhou, Kai, and Ge Xin. “Who Are the Front-Runners? Unravelling Local Government Responses to Containing the COVID-19 Pandemic in China.” China Review 21.1 (2021): 37-53.

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