In addition, starting from January 8, 2023, measures for the prevention and control of Class A infectious diseases stipulated in the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases" for the infection of new coronaviruses will be lifted. On the same day, the Comprehensive Group of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council issued an overall plan for the implementation of "Class B and B Control" for new coronavirus infections.
This means that as a special category B infectious disease that once required the use of category A management measures, the new crown infection has finally returned to its rightful place.
On the other hand, looking back at the "Twenty Articles" and "New Ten Articles" that have been issued one after another, all of them are paving the way for this adjustment of the new crown management level. Combining the latest characteristics of the new coronavirus with low lethality and the reality that it has caused large-scale infections, the need to continue to manage Class A infectious diseases no longer exists.
However, for many people, it seems that Class A infectious diseases and Class B infectious diseases are just differences in levels, and subjective feelings are not obvious.
The management of infectious diseases in accordance with the law should be based on evidence and laws. In order to clarify the reality and legal basis of this adjustment, Badian Jianwen interviewed Nankai University Law School Professor, Director of Nankai University Medical and Health Law Research Center, National Social Science Fund Major Project "Prevention of Major Public Health Incidents" Song Hualin, the chief expert of "Research on the Rule of Law System of Control", the following is the dialogue between Badian Jianwen and Professor Song Hualin.
Upgrading the management of Class B infectious diseases may easily lead to excessive prevention and control
Eight points of good news: From the perspective of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Law, what is the core difference between Class A management and Class B management of infectious diseases?
Song Hualin : The core difference between “Class B” infectious diseases and Class A infectious diseases lies in the category of infectious diseases, and the degree of harm to human health and life safety is also different.
"Class A" infectious diseases, although prevention and control measures are taken with reference to Class A infectious diseases, they are still Class B infectious diseases in essence, and are lower than Class A in terms of morbidity, fatality rate, transmission speed, and degree of harm. Infectious diseases, and Class B infectious diseases do not have a high disability rate and high teratogenicity, and the degree of harm to citizens' health and life safety is lower than Class A severe infectious diseases.
From the perspective of economic and social impact, Class B infectious diseases will cause certain harm to social and economic activities, but it is not easy to cause social panic, and the negative impact is relatively controllable. Class A infectious diseases are characterized by rapid transmission, high severity, and high fatality rate, and usually lack effective treatment methods, which can easily cause social panic and confusion, and may cause major economic losses and social impacts.
"Class B" infectious disease is to upgrade the management of specific infectious diseases, but it is easy to misunderstand that such infectious diseases are already Class A infectious diseases, causing unnecessary panic and excessive prevention and control in the society.
"Class B and B" infectious diseases have relatively low personal restrictions on citizens
Eight points of good news: In terms of epidemic prevention and control, the "Class B and A" infectious diseases with upgraded management and the real "B and B" How do infectious diseases differ?
Song Hualin: This is mainly reflected in isolation measures, blockade of epidemic areas, and traffic health and quarantine.
There is a big difference between the two in terms of the degree of restriction on citizens' personal freedom. "Class B control" infectious diseases is based on the concept of strict prevention and control, and adopts the prevention and control of class A infectious diseases.control measures. According to Article 39 of the "Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases", for Class A infectious diseases, mandatory isolation and treatment measures, separate isolation and treatment at designated places, medical observation at designated places, and other necessary preventive measures are required. "Class B and A" infectious diseases have severely restricted the personal freedom of citizens.
The "Class B and B tube" infectious diseases generally only require planned vaccination, necessary treatment measures, and control of the source of infection or transmission route, and the degree of personal restrictions on citizens is relatively low.
One, is it isolated. Whether to take isolation measures for patients with Class B infectious diseases depends on the condition of the disease. If isolation is "necessary for treatment and transmission control measures" according to the condition, isolation measures can be taken. In comparison, patients with Class B and A infectious diseases and pathogen carriers must be treated in isolation.
Second, isolate the object. For Class B infectious diseases, if it is necessary to take isolation measures, the isolation objects are limited to patients with Class B infectious diseases, but for "Class B and A" infectious diseases, not only patients and pathogen carriers need to be isolated and treated, suspected patients and patients, Pathogen carriers and close contacts of suspected patients should also be isolated for treatment or undergo medical observation in designated places.
Third, whether compulsory isolation and treatment measures can be taken. For "Class B and A" infectious diseases, those who refuse isolation treatment or leave isolation treatment without authorization before the isolation period expires, the public security organs may assist medical institutions to take compulsory isolation treatment measures.
In terms of regional blockade and control, according to the provisions of Article 41 of the "Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases", places where "Class B and A" infectious disease cases have occurred or specific areas within the place can be closed and quarantined measure. Provincial people's governments can also decide to blockade "Class B and A" infectious disease epidemic areas within their administrative regions. For "Class B and Controlled" infectious diseases, blockade measures cannot be implemented for epidemic areas, but emergency measures such as restricting gathering activities and closing specific places stipulated in Article 42 of the "Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases" can be taken.
In addition, when "Class B and A control" infectious diseases occur, traffic health quarantine can also be implemented.
New crown virus infection no longer meets the constituent elements of Class A infectious diseases
Eight points of health news: How should we understand that "new crown infection" has been downgraded to "Class B and B management"?
Song Hualin: It should be said that brought " new crown " back to its rightful place. On the one hand, the Omicron variant of the new coronavirus is currently the only variant of concern that is prevalent in our country. International and domestic monitoring data confirm that the pathogenicity and virulence of the Omicron variant strain and its evolutionary branches are significantly weakened compared with the original strain and delta variant strains three years ago, mainly manifested in severe and severe cases. The death rate was significantly lower than that of the original strain and other mutant strains of concern.
On the other hand, at present, the severe disease rate and mortality rate of patients infected with the new coronavirus remain at a fairly low level. The proportion of severe illness and death caused by the Omicron mutant strain is significantly lower than that of the original strain and the concerned mutant strain. This is not only a characteristic of the Omicron mutant strain, but also related to the improvement of the population vaccinationimmunitylevel and the country’s adoption Active prevention strategies are relevant.
According to the "Interpretation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases" compiled by the Legislative Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (Law Press, 2004 edition) , Class A infectious diseases refer to high morbidity and high mortality when treatment is delayed. It is a severe infectious disease that spreads rapidly among humans and affects a wide range of areas, which may endanger social security. When it is prevalent, measures such as mandatory isolation, blockade of epidemic areas, or traffic hygiene and quarantine are required.
This means that the severe disease rate and mortality rate of the new coronavirus no longer meet the constituent elements of a Class A infectious disease.
In addition, the new crown vaccination is becoming more and more popular, medical treatment capabilities are constantly improving, and home isolation observation and treatment are becoming more and more feasible.It also makes the realistic basis for the downgrade management of "new crown infection" more and more substantial.
The most important thing is that at present, many experts and scholars in our country have made professional, authoritative, and reasonable explanations and popularization of the pathogenicity changes of the new crown virus and the basis for national policy adjustments through various channels. The understanding is more rational, and they have a good understanding of its transmissibility, pathogenicity, mutation rules, and immune escape characteristics. The anxiety about possible infection with the new coronavirus is weak, and it is generally expressed about the measures that have been released to optimize the prevention and control of the epidemic. Support, the conditions for returning to "Class B and B pipes" are ripe.
The benefits and damages brought by "Class B and A tubes" are no longer in proportion
Eight points of health news: Why must we let the new crown infection return to the position of "Class B and B tubes"?
Song Hualin: First, the benefits brought by "Class B and A tubes" are no longer proportional to the damage caused.
In the early stage of the development of the new crown epidemic, the virus was highly contagious and pathogenic, and the virus mutation trend had a considerable degree of uncertainty. The measures of "Class B and A control" were adopted according to the law, and the prevention and control effect was remarkable. With the multiple mutations of the new crown virus, the toxicity of the currently popular mutant strain of Omicron is significantly reduced, and the immune barrier produced by the new crown vaccination, although "Class B and A control" can achieve the goal of strict prevention and control of the epidemic, it will give Personal rights bring unnecessary restrictions and excessively affect economic and social development, which is no longer the most cost-effective means.
Second, "Class B and A management" provides an institutional space for grassroots epidemic prevention work to be stepped up. According to Articles 39, 40, and 41 of the "Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases", the biggest difference between the control measures of Class A and Class B infectious diseases lies in the degree of prevention and control. For the new coronavirus, which is listed as a Class B infectious disease, it is managed as a Class A infectious disease, which is essentially an upgraded management thinking of strict prevention and control.
From the ninth edition of the "New Coronavirus Pneumonia Prevention and Control Plan" to the 20 measures to further optimize the epidemic prevention and control work, to the latest 10 optimization measures, all of them will reduce unnecessary prevention and control measures as the basic adjustment direction. However, in practice, the phenomenon of insufficient implementation in some places and increasing the number of layers is still repeatedly prohibited. This is partly influenced by the management thinking of upgrading.
Under the background of "Class B and A management", the strict prevention and control measures adopted by some places, such as one-size-fits-all and layer-by-layer increase, can also be interpreted as having certain legitimacy, which greatly affects the normal production and living order of the people and affects social stability .
Third, the continuous "Class B and A management" will have a huge impact on the economy and employment. The prevention and control measures have seriously affected the income of self-employed households and farmers, and have also caused damage to the survival and development of small and micro enterprises and individual industrial and commercial households .
Affected by the multiple, wide-ranging, and frequent outbreaks of the domestic epidemic some time ago, many companies had to suspend operations, resulting in operating difficulties in industries such as wholesale and retail, accommodation, catering, and cultural tourism, and increasing operating pressure on market players. Frequent closures have caused many practitioners to make ends meet, and a large number of physical industries cannot open for business. Moreover, due to control and isolation measures, it is difficult to even guarantee the income of normal workers.
Yan Yucheng丨Written by
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