Without reliable health data, busy hospitals caused fear among the public during the New Year holidays of the month.
China’s health officials say the flu season this winter is less severe than it was last year, but health professionals have questioned the transparency of the respiratory illness situation.
Residents of four different cities have expressed concern about the rise in respiratory infections within their families and communities when speaking during the Epoch era.
Some suspect that flu-like symptoms can actually be caused by Covid-19. This is fearful that doctors were instructed to avoid such a diagnosis, given that authorities declared victory in the fight against the pandemic almost two years ago.
In Baiyang, north of China, a woman named Xu noticed that someone with a respiratory illness saw a local hospital being packed again during the New Year holidays in the month. I said that.
“I’m feeling sick and haven’t recovered. The hospital said I’ve signed for flu A, but I think it’s just covid-19,” Xu told the Epoch Times on February 7th. He spoke. The law and their school-age daughters all fell ill. “The authorities are hiding the scale of the outbreak.”
Influenza tolls have been questioned
China’s top health groups acknowledge the country is tackling a surge in respiratory infections, but said the flu rate shows signs of slowing down.
During the administration’s latest briefing, National Health Commission (NHC) officials repeated previous assessments, saying the scale and intensity of the spread of respiratory infections this year was lower than in previous winters.
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“No new infections were detected,” NHC spokesman Mi Feng told reporters on January 17, and ahead of the week-long New Year’s holiday, the current infections were It is caused by known combinations of bacteria. No data was provided during the briefing.
In another report, the CDC reported 1.5 million cases of flu in December last year, leading to seven deaths.
Health professionals have questioned the accuracy of these flu statistics.
“It’s clear that mortality is underreported,” says Sean Lynn, a virologist and former Lab-Body Rector at the Institute, a former Lab-Body Rector in the Department of Viral Diseases at the US Walter Reed Army Research Institute. There is, the Epoch Times said.
According to Lin’s, only one person died in China in every 100,000 people with flu, in contrast to the many population rates observed in the US is. analysis.
“Given China’s (high) levels of air pollution and the large number of smokers, the number of people with fundamental respiratory diseases in China is thought to be substantial, and deaths from the flu are likely to occur. The numbers are likely to be much higher than reported,” Lynn said.
Don Yuhong, a doctor specializing in infectious diseases, also raised concerns about the lack of detailed data and called it essential to preventing a potential pandemic.
During a funeral in Shanghai, China on January 14, 2023, he and others carry the cremated remains of their loved ones, just as they wear traditional white funeral clothes. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
Without reliable health statistics, the international community will be in the dark about China’s true circumstances, according to Dong.
“Substantial statistics are extremely important for epidemic prevention. They help us understand the scale of outbreaks and assess the effectiveness of our response scale,” Don told the Epoch Times. He spoke.
Concerns among the general public
Chinese citizens seem unconvinced by Beijing’s optimism about this winter’s season of illness, and some seem to be paying attention to the current situation.
A man who worked at Guangdong’s Industrial Hub said he would not be home for China’s New Year, the country’s most important festival that fell on January 29th this year. He cited concerns about the outbreak of his hometown Xuchang. I’ve heard that the outbreak of Xuchang, more than 800 miles away, is “severe.”
The teacher recalled her relatives, a young man who passed away a few days after catching the flu. She said that given his previous health and lack of underlying conditions, there is no doubt that the domestic Covid-19 vaccine played a role.
In the central province of Amhui, a middle-aged father said his child and mother were also sick, and in his city, he heard many infections were seriously ill.
“They say it’s just the flu,” the man who refused to be named for fear of retaliation told the Epoch Times.
He speculated that a “new virus” was circulating, but said he heard others link it to a covid variant that mutated it. Nevertheless, “all these news (reports) were hidden,” he said.
Luo Ya and Xiong Bin contributed to this report.
