China weighs exit from 'zero COVID' and the risks involved

BEIJING (AP) — Even as authorities lock down cities in China's worst outbreak in two years, they are looking for an exit from what has been a successful but onerous COVID-19 prevention strategy.

A study, interviews with Chinese public health staff and recent public messaging by government-affiliated experts indicate that China is exploring ways of slowly easing its zero-tolerance approach — with the emphasis on slowly.

The latest sign came Monday in an essay published by Zhang Wenhong, an infectious disease specialist who is part of Shanghai’s COVID-19 response team and known as China’s “Dr. Fauci” — after U.S. government expert Anthony Fauci — for his public health messaging during the pandemic.

Zhang wrote in the Chinese business news outlet Caixin that the public needs to know the virus is becoming less deadly if people are vaccinated and their health isn't already compromised. “Dispelling the terror toward it is a step we must take,” the essay said.

“We should carve a very clear path and not spend all our time debating whether we should continue zero COVID or coexist (with the virus),” Zhang wrote.

Change does not appear imminent, with more than 15,000 new cases this month in multiple outbreaks across the country, as well as an even larger one that has shaken Hong Kong. For now, the government is sticking with the tried-and-true policy of lockdowns, repeated mass testing of millions of people and a two-week or more quarantine for overseas arrivals.

When it does come, any change will all but certainly be gradual and cautious. Opening up carries risks, because the country's success in protecting people from COVID-19 means many don’t have antibodies to fight the virus from previous infection. Moreover, China is using only domestically developed vaccines that are...