“It is necessary to increase paediatric outpatient services and extend service hours,” Mi said, also noting the need to “ensure the supply of medical materials” and “guarantee the supply of vaccines … and that more elderly people and children receive vaccines as soon as possible”.
02:43
China calls for people to ‘minimise personal movement and visits’ as respiratory illness cases surge
China calls for people to ‘minimise personal movement and visits’ as respiratory illness cases surge
Chinese social media has been awash in the past few months with photos of children on intravenous drips in crowded hospitals in cities such as Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.
The posts have fanned concerns of strain on the healthcare system.
In mid-November, the NHC reported that there had been an increase in incidence of respiratory disease but it did not give details.
The World Health Organization then asked China to provide more information, amid concerns about a potential new strain of the virus that causes Covid-19, and the possibility of new pathogens.
In its response to the WHO request, Beijing also said that outpatient and hospital admissions of children with mycoplasma pneumoniae started to rise as early as May. Respiratory diseases caused by other pathogens, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus and influenza virus, began to jump in October.
And last weekend, Mi noted that various pathogens were responsible for the rise in cases among children. The surge was being driven by the influenza virus as well as rhinoviruses, mycoplasma pneumoniae, RSV and adenovirus, he said.
That message was reinforced on Saturday with the NHC saying no new infectious diseases caused by new viruses or bacteria had been identified in the ongoing surge.
01:50
WHO presses China for details amid outbreak of respiratory illness among children
WHO presses China for details amid outbreak of respiratory illness among children
Wang Dayan, director of the Chinese National Influenza Centre, also said monitoring indicated that antiviral drugs were still effective against the viruses.
She said the flu strains prevalent now – including H3N2 subtype of influenza A virus – were also prevalent last year and also “consistent with the main strains circulating in most regions globally”.
Researchers were monitoring whether existing vaccines were “compatible” with the strains, she said.
She also noted that the existing corresponding vaccines for prevalent respiratory diseases, including flu, proved to be “safe and effective”, and it was important to be vaccinated.
“It is still effective for people who have not previously been vaccinated against influenza to get the flu vaccine now,” she said.
In Washington on Friday, five Republican senators led by Marco Rubio asked President Joe Biden’s administration to ban travel between the United States and China because of the spike in cases, Reuters reported.