China's COVID-19 situation'safe in short term,' says epidemiologist

A woman receives a booster dose in the Chaoyang district of Beijing on July 13, 2022. A PHOTO XINHUA Most Chinese people have acquired COVID 19 immunity after Omicron-fueled outbreaks and mass vaccination campaigns, and people are safe in the short term, according to an epidemiologist in an interview with People's Daily.

Zeng Guang made a statement in response to the World Health Organization's decision to continue to regard the spread of COVID-19 as a global emergency.

The figure, coupled with 90 percent inoculation, means that China has established basic herd immunity, as stated by Zeng, former chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the short term, the situation is safe, and the thunderstorm has passed, he said, while adding that many uncertainties remain in the long run.

Zeng said that China still faces challenges from the importation of Omicron variants such as XBB and BQ 1 and their subvariants, to the detriment of the nation's unvaccinated elderly population.

READ MORE: WHO chief speaks highly of China's COVID response efforts.

He said that China's COVID 19 response policies will take into account not only the death rate and its associated virus infections, but also the needs for economic development, social stability and global exchanges.