News & Views
COVID Outbreak in China
Tens of millions of residents across China are under lockdown as the country grapples with its worst reported COVID-19 outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic. Officials recorded almost 3,400 new cases Sunday, double the previous day, with the virus spreading in 18 provinces. Some have argued the country’s zero-tolerance approach and reliance on viral vector vaccines has left it vulnerable to the more transmissible omicron variant.
Meanwhile, cases in the US have fallen to around 36,000 per day – still 10 times higher than the spike in China. And researchers are saying that the omicron BA.2 subvariant is unlikely to spur a new surge in infections.