(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) China’s chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration, Wang Hesheng, said that the country will start preparing for a future pandemic that was titled “Disease X.”
Wang said during a press conference on the sidelines of the second session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing on March 9, 2024, that the Chinese government would implement a holistic approach to national security and work with relevant authorities to boost its preparedness, according to the Sun.
“Although Disease X is hard to avoid, the pandemic it could cause can be prevented. We need to be better prepared,“ he said.
World Health Organization director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said back in May 2023 that the world should be ready for the next pandemic, adding that it might be “even deadlier” than COVID-19.
The threat of another variant emerging that could cause new surges of infection and death remains, as well as the threat of another pathogen emerging with even deadlier consequences, he added.
According to Wang, the communist country would take preventive measures such as improving its systems and regulations, carrying out disease prevention control according to law and improving resource allocation and the mechanism to shift between normal operations and emergency risks.
“We will [also] build and improve a multichannel monitoring and early warning system and strengthen risk assessment in infectious diseases to identify them early,“ he said.
In addition to that, China would be active in its global public health governance, advance cooperation with the WHO and other international organizations and countries and actively participate in concluding a pandemic treaty and global health regulations, Wang said.
It was also reported that China vowed at the same press conference to keep employment steady by encouraging entrepreneurship, improving workers’ skills, keeping the job market vibrant and supporting key groups.
There was a strong demand for talent in fields such as artificial intelligence and big data, Human Resources and Social Security Minister Wang Xiaoping said. Xiaoping also added that there is also a demand on the rise in sectors like healthcare, accommodation, catering and cultural tourism.
