A nucleic acid test being performed in Shenzhen, China. Credit: Shengpengpeng Cai via Unsplash
Before COVID-19 vaccines were developed and distributed, China’s strict approach to controlling the virus resulted in fewer deaths and a much lower death rate per million people than in many other countries. But while these successes were impressive in late 2020 and early 2021, effective vaccines and treatments have become readily available since then, leading the World Health Organization to declare that the end of the pandemic is in sight.
Yet China has maintained its strict zero-COVID regime. While this containment strategy has saved many lives, it has also slowed the country’s economy, exacerbated supply-chain disruptions, and kept millions under lockdown for months. Does the zero-COVID policy pass a cost-benefit test in 2022?
China’s government and many investment banks had predicted that its economy would grow by roughly 5.5% in 2022, on the assumption that COVID-19 restrictions would be lifted. Instead, Chin
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