Coronavirus Briefing: China’s ‘Little Inoculated Warriors’

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/06/us/coronavirus-briefing-china-vaccine-children.html

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A study found that a Johnson & Johnson booster works well for people who had initial doses of Pfizer-BioNTech.

Stricter coronavirus testing rules took effect for travelers flying to the U.S.

France closed nightclubs for four weeks, but rejected adding other major restrictions.

Get the latest updates here, as well as maps and a vaccine tracker.

China has embarked on an ambitious campaign to fully vaccinate all 160 million children, ages 3 to 11, by the end of the year.

In the first two weeks of the effort, which began in late October, about half of the children in that age range (84 million kids) received the first of two shots, according to government data. In the U.S. during the same period, about 10 percent of children between ages 5 and 11 (2.6 million kids) received one shot.

The push is part of China’s march toward herd immunity: the point at which enough people are immune to the virus that it cannot spread through the population.

While many countries have abandoned that goal, particularly with the emergence of new variants such as Omicron, Chinese officials are doubling down. With 1.1 billion adults already vaccinated, young people are seen as an important part of the effort’s success.

The government insists the shots are voluntary, but in some cases, unvaccinated children have been sent home from school, and parents have been asked to publicly account for why they have not gotten shots for their children.

The parental reluctance may have its roots in China’s checkered safety record for children’s vaccines. In a 2018 scandal, hundreds of thousands of children may have been injected with ineffective vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough. And in 2013, 17 infants died after receiving a Chinese-made hepatitis B vaccine, prompting the authorities to quickly silence critics.

In general, however, Chinese vaccines are considered safe. In June, China approved the use of its Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines in children between the ages of 3 and 17.

Despite lingering parental doubts, China will probably succeed in getting most of its youngest citizens inoculated by the end of the year. The authorities have galvanized nurses, doctors and community health workers to convince all parents that their children should roll up their sleeves not only for their own health, but for the good of the country. The effort is powered in part with red flower stickers, balloons and boxes of toys for children who step up to become what nurses call “little inoculated warriors.”

The ruling Communist Party has pointed to the country’s low Covid-19 numbers — fewer than 5,000 people have died — as evidence that China’s authoritarian model is superior to the rest of the world, even as the nation’s borders remain closed and ordinary citizens find their personal freedom severely restricted during outbreaks.

“What we need is collective freedom, social freedom and national freedom,” Zhong Nanshan, China’s top disease expert, said. “Only with these freedoms can we have individual freedom.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a sweeping vaccine mandate for all private employers in New York City today, as a “pre-emptive strike” to stall another wave of coronavirus cases during the winter months.

The mayor said the aggressive measure would take effect on Dec. 27 — just days before he leaves office and Eric Adams, the mayor-elect, begins his term. Adams, who has been vague about supporting de Blasio’s other pandemic measures, declined to commit to enforcing the new rules.

The mandate would apply to about 184,000 businesses. Employees who work in-person at private companies must have one dose of the vaccine by Dec. 27; remote workers will not be required to get the vaccine. There is no testing option as an alternative, but exemptions will be offered for valid medical or religious reasons. City officials will release detailed guidelines about issues like enforcement by Dec. 15, after consulting with business leaders.

The mandate pushes the city’s workplace vaccination requirements well beyond those in most of the country, where local mandates are generally limited to the public sector and health care.

The mayor also announced that the rules for dining and entertainment would apply to children ages 5 to 11, who must have one dose to enter restaurants and theaters starting on Dec. 14, and that the requirement for adults would increase from one dose of a vaccine to two starting on Dec. 27, except for those who initially received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

We’re continuing to answer your questions about the new variant. (If you have a question, you can fill out this form.) Today, I took one to Tara Parker-Pope, the founding editor of Well.

With the new variant, how should I handle invitations to small gatherings indoors if I am triple vaccinated and a senior? Am I OK if I am wearing a mask? Should I skip it if everyone is not wearing a mask? — A.W., Charlottesville, Va.

Tara: The answer depends on what everyone else at the gathering has been doing to lower their risk. Here are the questions I would ask before attending a gathering.

Has everyone at the party who is eligible gotten a booster shot?

Do I know the guests well enough to know if they take daily precautions, like avoiding crowded indoor spaces and wearing a mask to the grocery store?

Has anyone at the party traveled recently, or attended a large event like a wedding or funeral?

What’s happening in the community? Are vaccination rates high or low? Are case counts climbing, steady or declining?

Is everyone willing to take a rapid test upon arrival?

Smaller gatherings with people we know are safer because we can ask these questions. If everyone has gotten a booster shot and tested negative using a rapid home test right before the event, I’d feel comfortable attending without masks. If your party host has a portable HEPA air cleaner or has opened windows, that’s even better. All hosts should plan their events around the most vulnerable people in the room and ask these questions to reassure all of their guests.

But then there is the question of your personal risk. The risk among vaccinated older people varies. A vaccinated person in their 60s who is healthy and active is at lower risk than a vaccinated person who is very old, frail or who has a serious health condition. People at very high risk may want to limit their socializing to small events with close friends and family. Some high-risk people may be more comfortable using a mask and having others wear them too, but asking everyone to take a rapid test right before the event is likely more protective than wearing a mask.

More Omicron news:

A new study suggests that the variant is causing more infections in people who have recovered from a previous infection, Science reports.

Computer modeling suggests Omicron can evade vaccines to some degree, but is unlikely to cause more severe illness than previous variants, Bloomberg reports.

Europe is on edge as Omicron cases rise quickly before the holidays.

The new variant means China’s big spenders won’t be traveling any time soon.

The U.S. is averaging more than 100,000 virus cases per day for the first time in two months.

A cruise ship returned to New Orleans with 17 coronavirus cases aboard.

People living in counties that voted heavily for Donald Trump are nearly three times as likely to die from the virus as those who live in counties that voted for Joe Biden, NPR reports.

According to a Washington Post analysis, Trump came into contact with more than 500 people between testing positive and his hospitalization last year.

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