Coronavirus: China’s public health system needs revamp, noted brain scientist Rao Yi says after bout of Covid
- Containing infectious disease outbreaks should be at the core of the public health system, renowned neurobiologist Rao Yi says in online article
- There can be no letting down of the guard, Rao adds, warning of a disconnect between China’s public health and epidemic prevention systems
Rao is a leading neurobiologist who studied and worked in the US for more than two decades. He gave up his American citizenship after returning to China in 2007 and is president of Capital Medical University in Beijing.
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Over the years, the epidemic prevention framework had receded in importance as economic development brought improvements in public health, and medical science and vaccine technology advanced, Rao said.
The focus of public health had shifted from infectious diseases to new arenas, such as chronic and non-communicable diseases, he noted.
“Re-recognising the importance, permanence and difficulty of containing infectious disease outbreaks is an important task for our public health and epidemic prevention system,” Rao wrote, adding that the risk of such outbreaks could never be underestimated.
Rao’s comments come as China grapples with its biggest wave of coronavirus infections – with an average of over 30,000 new cases every day in the past week.
