ThepastthreeyearshavebeenasteeplearningcurveinhandlingCOVID-19patientsforDangShuangsuo,anepidemiologistinXi"an,Shaanxiprovince.

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Attheoutsetofthepandemic,whenthedeadliervariantsofthevirusweresweepingtheglobe,justafewantivirusdrugsandherbalmedicineprescriptionscommonlyusedforseasonalfluwereavailableforDangtotreatCOVIDpatients.

Heandhiscolleagueswerethennotsosureaboutwhatparameterstomonitorinpatientssothattheycouldintervenebeforemildsymptomsmorphedintolife-threateningconditions.

Inthebeginning,herecalled,nodiagnosisandtreatmentplanshadyetbeentailor-madeforspecificagegroups,suchaselderlypatientsandyoungchildren.

Adheringtothecountry"sconsistentprincipleofalwaysputtingpeople"slivesandhealthfirst,Dangandhispeershavewitnessedthesystemicevolutionoverthepastthreeyearsofmeasuresintermsofviruscontainment,treatmentknowledge,responseprocedures,drugsandvaccines,thankstotremendousresourcesmobilizedbytheauthoritiesatalllevels.

BythetimeChinaoptimizeditsCOVID-19controlmeasuresattheendoflastyearinlightofthedecreasingvirulenceofOmicronsubvariants,Dang,thedirectoroftheinfectiousdiseasesdepartmentoftheSecondAffiliatedHospitalofXi"anJiaotongUniversityinShaanxiprovince,saidthattheChinesemedicalcommunitywasmuchbetterequippedandexperiencedtotacklenovelcoronavirusinfectionscomparedwiththreeyearsago.

COVIDmedicinessuchasthedomesticallydevelopedAzvudine,thePfizer-madePaxlovid,andMolnupiravirmanufacturedbyMerck&CohavebeenapprovedforclinicaluseinChina,whilemoreefficientandconvenientvaccines,includinganinhalableone,weremadeavailablelastyearforpeopleseekinganextralayerofprotection.

RuleshavebeenclarifiedoverwhenantibioticscanbeusedonCOVIDpatients,promotingtheproperuseofdrugsandreducingantibioticresistance.

Meanwhile,effortstoaddmorecriticalcarebedsandtoraisetheinoculationrateamongolderadultswerealsopickingup.

Inaddition,anewlyreleaseddiagnosisandtreatmentplanforseverelyillCOVIDpatientslistedbloodoxygensaturationunder93,amongotherbodyindexes,asawarningsignofadeterioratingcondition,makingiteasierfordoctorstotakeactionbeforeit"stoolate.

"Overthepastthreeyears,COVID-19changedfromanunknownvirusintoabetter-knownone,"saidDang,whoisalsovice-chairmanofShaanxi"sexpertpanelforthepreventionandtreatmentofmajorinfectiousdiseases.

DangwaswellawarethatbeingcautiousintermsofCOVID-19controlpolicyisaninevitablechoicefortheChinesegovernment,giventhecountry"svastpopulation,fast-agingdemographicsandtheunevendistributionofmedicalresources.

Duetothecountry"slargepopulation,China"shospitalsaresusceptibletobeingoverstretchedifoutbreaksspreadunchecked.

Inaddition,NationalBureauofStatisticsfiguresshowedthatChinahad280millionpeopleaged60andoverbytheendoflastyear,andthisistheagegroupthattheNationalHealthCommissionsaidthismonthaccountsforalmost90percentofseverelyillCOVIDcases.

Formuchofthepastthreeyears,ChinawasundertremendouspressuretoabandonitsstringentCOVID-19controlmeasures.

Asthevirus"lethalvariantsinterruptedlifeworldwide,someWestern-countries,wherefactorieswereforcedtoshutdownasworkersfellsick-attemptedtoshifttheblametoChina,whereliveslargelyreturnedtonormalduetostrictcontrolsoverinfections-fordisruptingglobalsupplychains.

However,ChinastooditsgroundandkeptitsbordercontrolsinplaceuntilJanuary.Bythistime,thedominantOmicronsubvariantsweremuchlessdeadlythantheirpredecessors,andmorethan90percentoftheChinesepeoplewerevaccinated.

OnJan8,Chinadowngradedthemanagementofthevirus,sothatinboundtravelersnolongerhavetoundergoquarantineortakeanucleicacidtestuponarrival.

Thethreeyearsofstrictcontrolofinternationaltravel,togetherwitheffortstonipeverydomesticoutbreakinthebud,haveboughtprecioustimeforexpertssuchasDangtolearnmoreaboutCOVID-19astheyapprovenewtreatments,developmoreeffectivevaccinesandmakenewdiagnosisandtreatmentplansforCOVID-19patients.

Fine-tuningmeasures

"Chinahastakenverysmallsteps,butithasneverstoppedfine-tuningitsCOVIDcontrolmeasuresasthevirusmutates,"hesaid,echoingcommentsmadeinNovemberbyVice-PremierSunChunlan.

TheauthoritiesinChinahavemaintainedthatthenationwastaking"smallbutnonstopsteps"infine-tuningitsCOVIDresponsestrategy,whilestaunchlyadheringtotheultimatemissiontosafeguardpeople"shealthandlives.

Thegradualnatureofthechangewasmanifestedinthe10editionsofpandemiccontrolplansreleasedoverthecourseofthreeyears,aswellasthelandmarkdocumentscolloquiallyknownasthe"20measures"andthe"10newmeasures",unveiledinNovemberandDecember,respectively.

SinceFebruary2020,thefirstsixofthecontagioncontrolplanswerepublishedinslightlymorethanamonth,whenunderstandingoftheviruswasstillunclearandlittleclinicaldatawasavailable.

OnJan7,Chinareleasedthe10thandlatestedition,highlightingvaccinationandpersonalprotection.

JusttwodaysaheadoftheeveofSpringFestivalthismonth,healthofficialsappearedatanewsconferenceonJan19withanencouragingmessage.

GuoYanhong,directoroftheNationalHealthCommission"smedicalemergencydepartment,saidthenumberofCOVID-19patientshaddeclinedsignificantlyathealthfacilitiesnationwide,fromfeverclinicsandemergencycenterstocriticalcarewards.Meanwhile,theoverwhelmingmajorityofoutpatientsandhospitalizationswereseekingtreatmentforconditionsotherthanCOVID-19.

DataprovidedbytheChineseCenterforDiseaseControlandPreventionshowedthatthepositivetestratedroppedfrom29.2percentto5.5percentbetweenDec25andMonday.ThenumberofdeathsfromCOVID-19infectionsinhospitalsnationwidedropped79percentfromthepeakonJan4to896onMonday.

Tobolsterthetreatmentcapacityinruralregions,Danghadchampionedasimplifiedtreatmentplanforgrassrootsdoctors,sothattheycanquicklyidentifyCOVIDpatientsandensuretheirconditiondoesnotworsen.

Hisefforts,coupledwiththecentralauthorities"movestobolsterinvestmentinthehealthcaresysteminthecountrysideandbeyond,managedtotidetheruralpopulationoverasurgeofinfectionslastmonth,andhelpedcontributetoChina"ssuccessinkeepingitsCOVIDdeathrateamongthelowestintheworld.

AccordingtotheNationalHealthCommissioninJuly,despitetheintensechallengesresultingfromthepandemic,China"saveragelifeexpectancycontinuedtoriseamidthepandemic,from77.93yearsin2020to78.2yearsin2021.

Meanwhile,accordingtotheNationalCenterforHealthStatistics,whichispartoftheUnitedStates"CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention,averagelifeexpectancyintheUSfelloverthesameperiodfrom77yearsin2020to76.1yearsin2021.ThetotalnumberofCOVID-relateddeathsintheUSreached1.1millionbyJanuary,accordingtotheCDC.

PointingtoChina"srecordinhandlingthepandemicoverthepastthreeyears,Dangpointedoutthat,"Protectingvulnerablegroupsisamissionforasocialistsociety."

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