Bai Yansong interviewed the editor-in-chief of The Lancet: Wuhan Fengcheng, patient zero and Vaccine.
According to CCTV news, on May 1st, CCTV News 1+1 column Bai Yansong interviewed Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet, a top international medical journal, to discuss how to evaluate the experience of China and the United States in epidemic prevention and control, and how to treat the "conspiracy theory of virus origin" and "responsibility theory" that appear frequently.
Horton: In the face of an emergency, the China government decided to block Wuhan very decisively.
Bai Yansong: Today is a very important day in Chinese’s memory, because Wuhan was "closed" for 100 days due to the epidemic. What do you think of China’s decision after such a long time?
Horton, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet: When faced with an emergency, the China government decided to blockade Wuhan very decisively. By blocking Wuhan, China can give the world time to deal with the epidemic. This is not only a correct decision, but also shows other countries how to deal with the urgent threat of the epidemic. So I think we should thank China for his efforts in fighting the epidemic in Wuhan.
Horton responded to the conspiracy theory of virus origin: some false information is terrible.
Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet: On one level, many of these statements are ridiculous, but we should also pay attention to them. There is a study on false information in the European Union, and some of the false information is terrible. For example, some people say that vaccination in the future is dangerous, or that the epidemic is concocted by the media, or that the virus will not pose a threat to people. So we should pay attention to these rumors and prove them wrong. Unfortunately, in some media reports, this rumor spreads like a virus and affects people, causing harm to people. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent and control the spread of the virus and also break the rumors.
Horton: Looking for patient zero is not very meaningful.
Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet: I don’t think it’s very meaningful to look for patient zero. For example, when AIDS broke out in the 1980s, many people wanted to find patient zero, who was the super-disseminator of the virus in the United States, and spent a lot of energy looking for patient zero. At that time, people thought they had found patient zero, who was widely discussed after being exposed by the media, but many years later it was found that this person was not patient zero. Therefore, finding this person who has spread the virus may cause many problems, such as causing stigma and discrimination against him, which will not play any role and is certainly unscientific. But we really need to know the origin of this virus and where it comes from. This virus is likely to spread from an animal host to humans. We need to understand the process of virus transmission between animals, and how the virus from animals spreads to humans, and also avoid the spread of this virus from animals to humans. The goal now is to understand where the virus produced in animals comes from and reduce the risk of virus spreading from animals to humans.
Horton: Many countries have not paid attention to WHO early warning.
Horton, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet: This is one of the unsolved mysteries in the process of epidemic spread. On January 30th, the World Health Organization defined this epidemic as an international public health emergency, which was a warning to the world to remind the world to pay attention to the epidemic. Dr. Tan Desai mentioned the spread of this virus, so please get ready. The early warning mechanism of international public health emergencies is an innovative mechanism, which was established in 2005. It was caused by the outbreak of SARS in 2002-2003. After the outbreak of SARS, the world paid more attention to the impact of the epidemic, so the early warning mechanism was introduced. The World Health Organization is the most important authoritative organization in the field of global health, and we need to pay attention to its warning. Unfortunately, many countries did not pay attention to early warning, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, which could have been avoided.
Horton: It is useless and untrue to accuse China of being the source of communication.
Horton, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet: Unfortunately, we have heard that some people are accusing China of being the source of the epidemic. In fact, the accusation is useless and untrue. What we really need to do is to calm down and cooperate with the China government to understand the epidemic and do our best to ensure that the epidemic will not come back. China himself did not want to see the outbreak of the epidemic, nor should he be responsible for it. But things have happened. The doctors and scientists I know in China have made the most outstanding contributions. They have given advice to the government, treated patients and protected the lives of China citizens. So I think China should be very proud, because China has excellent scientific research and medical staff. Some world political leaders criticized China, which is unfair and wrong in fact. We should thank the doctors and scientists in China who fought the epidemic.
Horton: Dividing countries and people cannot effectively deal with the epidemic.
Horton, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet: I greatly appreciate the scientific and medical development level in the United States. Their doctors and scientists have done a very good job in responding to the epidemic, such as Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Deborah Beukes, who are all outstanding researchers. What disappoints me is American politicians. For example, they advocate conspiracy theories, or support some treatments without clear evidence. They also openly criticize other countries, such as the United States criticizing China, or criticizing some organizations, such as the World Health Organization. This practice is useless. What we should do is to strengthen cooperation to deal with the challenges brought by the epidemic. Dividing countries and people cannot effectively deal with this threat facing all mankind.
Horton talks about shelter hospital: a very important innovative measure for China to successfully deal with the epidemic.
Horton, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet: Fangcang Hospital is one of the most important innovative measures to successfully deal with the epidemic in China. It is a very good innovative idea to establish temporary huge Fangcang Hospital in some existing buildings, where patients with mild illness can enter Fangcang Hospital, and someone will take care of them, and establish a triage system. If the illness gets worse, patients will be referred to other hospitals. First of all, it can protect other hospitals and prevent patients from flooding into these hospitals; Second, it can provide a space to deal with a large number of patients, and it can effectively isolate these patients in this shelter hospital and provide them with a safe space. I think this is a very important factor in China’s success in fighting the epidemic, and it is also an important experience that other countries in the world can learn.
Horton responded to the statement that "people should be anxious to save lives instead of publishing papers"
Horton, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet: It’s not a matter of choice. In the past three months, doctors and scientists in China have actually taken care of both, summing up experience while saving lives on the front line. Their experiences published in scientific journals should not only be regarded as a paper in a journal, but a way to communicate with the world. Without the papers published by China from January until yesterday, we wouldn’t have a reliable knowledge base to better understand how to deal with the epidemic. Therefore, we are very grateful to the doctors and scientists in China for their papers published according to their own work, so that the world can get better information. This reflects China’s responsible attitude, that is, to become friends with other countries, to tell and share their own experiences and help other countries understand the seriousness of the epidemic. We must express our gratitude to the doctors and scientists in China. They can take the time to do these things, and China can talk about his ongoing work, which is a success in itself.
Horton: The discussion on the epidemic should not be interpreted as part of the geopolitical struggle of the country.
Horton, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet: I regret that the discussion about this epidemic was finally interpreted as a part of the country’s geopolitical struggle. In fact, it should not be like this. COVID-19 is a threat to the health of all mankind, and we need to work together to deal with this threat. I don’t want to see accusations against the country, which is not beneficial to disease prevention and control, let alone promote peace and development, and accusations can’t stop the epidemic. On the contrary, we need to sit down and cooperate and trust each other, so as to solve the problems we face together. I am very sorry that some political leaders have made such criticisms, which is why I want to publicly thank my colleagues and friends from China for their contributions to medical work and medical science in China. They have done so much, and we need to formally say thank you. They should not be criticized, but should be thanked by us. This is the most important point I want to emphasize.
Horton: China should think about how to make medical research leaders more involved in international affairs.
Horton, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet: In the past two decades, China has made huge investments in the fields of health care and science. However, in these international conferences around the world that I attended, I didn’t feel that there were enough China representatives in international conferences or activities. I hope to see more China scientists and medical leaders active on the world stage. China accounts for one fifth of the world’s population, but does China represent one fifth of the world’s important international activities, especially those that will have an impact on the future development direction of the world? Not really. Therefore, I think China leaders should think about how to make China’s medical and medical research leaders participate more in international affairs in the next stage. I hope to see some Chinese I know, I respect, I like and admire very much, and play a more important role in the world. I hope to hear more voices from China and China in international affairs and play a more important role on the world stage. I hope that one of the results of this epidemic is to make China have a stronger voice.
Horton: The only thing that can prevent the epidemic from rebounding is the vaccine.
Horton, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet: We know the situation in Wuhan now. The blockade lasted for about 10 weeks from January 23 to early April. At present, the spread of this virus in Wuhan has been completely eliminated, indicating that the first wave of epidemic will end after 10 weeks of blockade, and there may be a risk of epidemic rebound. The only thing that can prevent the epidemic from rebounding is vaccine, which can immunize everyone and protect everyone in the future. We must maintain some protective measures now, such as keeping the distance between people, paying attention to personal hygiene, washing hands frequently, and not pointing at others when coughing. Only in this way can we stop the epidemic from rebounding. In the next six to twelve months, we will probably have a vaccine developed, so at this time next year, we may start to inject this vaccine so that everyone can really be protected.
Editor Peng Qihang proofreads Fu Chuncheng.