China CDC warns coronavirus can spread from frozen food products; vaccine to be available soon
October 27, 2020 Category Health, Weekly
The coronavirus can pass from objects to humans, and exist in cold chain conditions for a long time, the Qingdao government in Shandong province announced, as it revealed how the virus spread from imported frozen food products in the latest outbreak in the city. The discovery was made public by Luan Xin, Deputy Mayor of Qingdao. China Customs told the Global Times they have been upgrading spot checks of imported goods, with emphasis on imported cold chain products, starting in September, even before Qingdao’s announcement that it discovered “object-to-human” virus passage. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that it had detected and isolated living coronavirus in a positive sample from the outer packaging of imported frozen cod.
It was the first time the presence of the virus has been confirmed in the cold chain transport outside the laboratory and the virus can survive in cold chain conditions across borders. Wholesalers who purchase imported cold chain products have to report to local authorities 24 hours before the food arrives, said Chen Wansheng, a Qingdao official. Fan Xubing, a senior seafood industry analyst, told the Global Times that he does not think it is necessary to check every imported product, since the costs would be too high. “Under normal circumstances, the proportion of Customs spot checks will be 1%. But since sampling is random, no one can cheat on it,” said Fan. “The scale of frozen fish and meat imports is too large to completely cut off, and Customs authorities are strengthening spot checks on cold chain items to almost all containers,” a Customs officer told the Global Times. According to the Shanghai Daily, Qingdao Customs will conduct nucleic acid testing on all imported cold chain products. A Beijing Customs source said that the situation has put pressure on their work, and that Beijing has already suspended some cold chain related imports.
Meanwhile, 164 asymptomatic cases were reported in Kashgar prefecture in Xinjiang. They are all connected to a clothing factory where the parents of the first asymptomatic patient work. The 17-year old woman did not leave Shufu county in the past year and did not have contact with a known virus carrier. Chinese epidemiologists are now looking for the source of the infection, but warn that there could be a community outbreak and cases might be confirmed in the coming days. A Level-1 emergency response has been activated and all close contacts of the infected persons have been isolated for medical observation and testing. All 4.7 million people in the prefecture will be tested in three days time. The outbreak marks the Chinese mainland’s first local infection since October 14, when one was detected in Qingdao. Xinjiang was the site of a local cluster in August, but no new cases had been found in the region since August 15.
Concerning vaccine development, Chinese authorities refuted Western media reports that China has rolled out experimental Covid-19 vaccines to the general public. They are still only used for emergency purposes to vaccinate Chinese personnel traveling to high-risk areas abroad. This emergency use has been undertaken in line with relevant laws and regulations in China with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO), Zheng Zhongwei, an official from the National Health Commission (NHC) in charge of technology development, told a press conference. All those who have received the vaccination under the emergency plan have shown no severe adverse reactions, Zheng added. Zhejiang was the first province in China to announce that it will make Covid-19 vaccinations available to the public, but vaccinations have not started yet. “The vaccination is reservation-based, and it only covers key groups of people. Ordinary people have no access to the vaccines yet,” an official from the Yiwu Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Zhejiang province told the Global Times. Key groups of people covered by vaccines for emergency use include medics, workers involved in anti-epidemic prevention and control work, border control staff, and those who ensure city operations and management, according to the Yiwu city government. China has 13 vaccine candidates in clinical trials, including four in phase-3 trials. Around 60,000 volunteers have been inoculated with one of the four advanced vaccine candidates. Initial indications are that the vaccines are safe. China is expected to produce up to 610 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of this year, Zheng Zhongwei, head of China’s coronavirus vaccine development task force said, the Shanghai Daily reports. “Manufacturing conditions are mature, and the vaccines are ready. We’ll probably see them available to the public as soon as next month, or if not, by the end of this year,” a Beijing-based immunological expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times.
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