Same thing happened in Australia and New Zealand when they dropped their Zero Covid policies; both had big waves. "Virus gonna virus". Zero virus policies might be rational if the virus in question had a double-digit (percentage) fatality rate, but not for one where it's a small fraction of one percent.
There is an epidemiological question as to how well the Chinese population will fare against Omicron having largely skipped Delta (if the official numbers are to be believed). With no cross immunity from various strains, will Omicron be as mild for them as it has been for everyone else?
While the fear porn has always focused on cases, the public health dimensions are hospitalizations and deaths. And China's healthcare infrastructure is deficient to put it mildly.
I'm sure they could crank out plenty of ventilators. ;)
What they should have done is encouraged their entire population to take 5000 IU of D3 every day for several months prior to ripping off the band-aid.
That said, it does appear that Omicron is milder. I know a number of people who've had it this year, who haven't had any of the prior strains, and none of them had any deep lung involvement. That's a stark contrast to 2021 when both people I knew who got Alpha (assumption based on timing) ended up in the hospital and one came out in a box.
Same thing happened in Australia and New Zealand when they dropped their Zero Covid policies; both had big waves. "Virus gonna virus". Zero virus policies might be rational if the virus in question had a double-digit (percentage) fatality rate, but not for one where it's a small fraction of one percent.
Which makes China's timing very fascinating.
There is an epidemiological question as to how well the Chinese population will fare against Omicron having largely skipped Delta (if the official numbers are to be believed). With no cross immunity from various strains, will Omicron be as mild for them as it has been for everyone else?
While the fear porn has always focused on cases, the public health dimensions are hospitalizations and deaths. And China's healthcare infrastructure is deficient to put it mildly.
I'm sure they could crank out plenty of ventilators. ;)
What they should have done is encouraged their entire population to take 5000 IU of D3 every day for several months prior to ripping off the band-aid.
That said, it does appear that Omicron is milder. I know a number of people who've had it this year, who haven't had any of the prior strains, and none of them had any deep lung involvement. That's a stark contrast to 2021 when both people I knew who got Alpha (assumption based on timing) ended up in the hospital and one came out in a box.