The Facts
Following years of limited exposure to the COVID virus due to China's "zero-COVID" strategy and low vaccination rates, a fast-spreading surge of Omicron subvariants in China has researchers predicting a spike in virus-related deaths in the next year, with some forecasts predicting more than 1M new fatalities.
Earlier this month, China loosened its zero-COVID policy after a wave of mass protests broke out in response to three years of strict lockdowns, mass testing, and quarantines. Now, fears of death, virus mutations, and economic impacts are rising among the population of 1.4B.
The Spin
Narrative A
The high numbers of COVID infections and deaths predicted for China in the coming weeks are a direct result of the abandonment of the zero-COVID policy. The strict policy kept citizens from developing immune responses to the virus and hundreds of millions may ultimately die as it's lifted. Authorities should have done more to responsibly boost immunity before opening up, but the policy did keep deaths at a low number when it was in practice.
Narrative B
Although lifting the zero-COVID policy may lead to projections of high infection and death rates in the coming months, it was the right thing to do. The draconian lockdowns could not last forever, and the Chinese people were fed up and rightly protesting. This reopening is going to be very challenging but is necessary.