China to introduce second COVID vaccine booster for elderly and high-risk groups

After three years of enforcing some of the most stringent virus restrictions in the world, the Chinese government made the unexpected announcement earlier this week that it was eliminating several of the restrictions.

Protests over the curbs last month in Beijing and other cities turned into calls for leader Xi Jinping and the Communist Party to step down, a degree of popular discontent unseen in decades.

While met with relief, the relaxation has also sparked concerns about a new wave of infections potentially overwhelming health care resources in some areas. The loosening of restrictions resulted in a substantial decline in testing but cases still seem to be rising quickly with many people conducting tests at home and avoiding hospitals.

Without asymptomatic cases being counted, China reported just 2,249 “confirmed” infections Wednesday, bringing the nation’s total to 369,918 — more than double the level on Oct. 1. It has recorded 5,235 deaths — compared with 1.1 million in the United States.

However, the government-provided statistics from China have not been independently validated, and it has been questioned if the Communist Party in power has attempted to reduce the number of cases and fatalities.