you’d think that if all that motivates US policy-makers is “we have to beat The Chinese”, then this should be plenty of motivation to actually start taking covid seriously
I mean, it will go on another ten years? almost certainly, in the absence of a totally game changing vaccine, in which case it will go on another five or six years.
And those five, six, or even ten years are five, six, or ten years where more & more people will be protected from the worst outcomes of “let er rip”. Protecting people is so evil and authoritarian 😥😥😥
Videos posted on Chinese social media site Weibo showed people rushing to the park’s gates following the announcement but finding them already locked.
However, those awaiting their freedom at Shanghai Disney can console themselves with one positive: rides are continuing to operate for those trapped inside The Happiest Place on Earth.
love this!
In December 2022, China finally ended its draconian zero COVID policy. Following the sudden opening, the number of positive cases and deaths skyrocketed. The reasoning behind this change has been baffling scholars. Not long ago, the official media praised the zero COVID policy as “most economical and most effective.” Perhaps more surprising was that there seemed to be little preparation for the opening. Soon after the opening, hospitals faced overcrowding, and medicines were sold out.
lol, lmao even;
but seriously I think my assessment remains the same as it did two years ago: the early Chinese lockdowns were a success that helped reduce deaths by curtailing the spread until widespread vaccination, while the later lockdowns were a failure that just increased the cost of the pandemic without helping at all to prepare for the inevitable collapse of the policy and abrupt transition to the “let her rip” approach.
China still did better than America on a per capita basis as a result, but the crisis painfully highlighted the weaknesses of the system as well as its strengths, just as it did for every other country.