Even a Diehard Covid Test Advocate Says China Is Going Too Far

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Michael Mina has been pushing for testing to stop the Covid-19 outbreak. He says that what China is doing is not right.

The world's second most populous country is rolling out a vast network of testing booths in urban areas so that millions of people are within a 15 minute walk of getting tested. Testing is required as often as every 48 hours to access public transit, entertainment venues and even the workplace in many cities.

There will be tests on every corner for years.

Mina, a former Harvard epidemiologist, was an early advocate of using inexpensive at- home tests to screen populations for initial cases of Covid before they spread. Mass-testing mandates require laboratory analysis and results are sent to health tracking apps on a person's phone.

Mina said that the approach could leave the country even more vulnerable to the virus.

Mina is the chief science officer at e Med, a company that offers at- home Covid tests and telemedicine services. It makes me think twice about the approaches I have advocated for.

Mina is questioning the health implications of such widespread screening. The virus is here to stay more than two years after Covid arrived. He said that China may make people more vulnerable once they are exposed to the pathogen.

There is a long road to recovery after the lockdown ends.

He said that the policy puts China in a bad position. It's ready to ignite whenever there's a case. The only way to suppress the virus is to lock down and test. This will continue until there is some endemicity.

China will be able to fight future Covid Flareups and other threats thanks to a permanent testing infrastructure. China will be in a good position to deal with emerging pathogens since the US doesn't have it.

Everyone will be exposed to Covid eventually, Mina said. It can be harmful to interfere with the process.

He said that it was not just postponing the inevitable. The consequences of this type of activity are damaging, not just from a Covid standpoint, but really from the way humans have evolved to be exposed to other infections on a frequent basis.

The assistance was given by Dong Lyu.