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Chinese CDC calls for precautions to continue following post-vaccination cases
Updated 19:23, 01-Aug-2021
By Wu Guoxiu, Bao Hongwei
02:00

Health authorities on the Chinese mainland have reported over 300 COVID-19 cases in July – almost equal to the total caseload of the five months earlier.

Officials have warned of an uptick in infections related to the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 and are urging people to continue taking precautions, like wearing masks, even after getting vaccinated.

Chinese health authorities have said there's been increasing pressure to stave off imported COVID-19 cases as the Chinese mainland saw a daily average of 27 symptomatic infections coming from abroad in July. The current outbreak triggered by the Delta variant has been traced to airport workers in the eastern city of Nanjing.

"Research shows that the Delta variant is at least two times more infectious than the original COVID-19 strain. We'll see a significant multiplication rate, if there are no strong preventive measures in place and if there are not enough vaccinations," cautioned Feng Zijian, a researcher at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Official figures show that over 1.6 billion vaccine doses have been administered on the Chinese mainland, including for 150 million people over 60 and 12 million people between the ages of 12 and 17. Some of those infected by the Delta variant had already received their jabs, according to reports, but Chinese health experts say vaccines still have protective efficacy.

"Infections after vaccination are called breakthrough cases. This is normal, not an exception. But breakthrough cases still make up a small proportion of the over three billion doses administered globally. Current studies show the efficacy of vaccines, in all technical routes, did drop by some extent. But the variants are still controllable by vaccines," said Shao Yiming, chief expert and researcher at the Chinese CDC.

"A large-scale outbreak isn't realistic in China, given the country's effective control measures and world-leading vaccination rate," Shao noted.

Facing the more contagious Delta variant, which has been reported in at least 137 countries, experts said the spike in vaccinated individuals becoming infected shows that extra precautions and measures need to be taken to stop the virus from spreading.

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