On April 3, the ‘Wuhan Infectious Diseases and Cancer Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS)’ was officially established at the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University (WHU). Academician Wang Chen, the vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the president of CAMS, and Wang Xinghuan, the dean of Zhongnan Hospital of WHU, attended the signing ceremony.
In the signing ceremony, Wang Chen said that the work to date concerning epidemic prevention and control had achieved remarkable results but the absence of a thorough understanding of the novel coronavirus and its transmission routes, requires vigilance for another possible outbreak or a rebound of this epidemic.
According to Wang Chen, “Some Western countries had adopted a ‘herd immunity’ strategy, increasing overall immunity at the expense of the elderly and more vulnerable groups. By contrast, China places all people’s lives and health first and spares no effort to save every patient, which has demonstrated great humanitarian spirit.” He also added that after the epidemic, European countries and the United States might open up their borders thanks to herd immunity, whereas China could fall into a passive situation.
Confronted with the new challenges brought by the epidemic, Wang Chen remarked that all regions, especially high-risk places, should conduct an epidemiological investigation through nucleic acid and serum antibody testing. Asymptomatic patients can be detected through nucleic acid testing, and the immunity level of the population can be reflected through antibody detection. Combined, they can help make a scientific assessment of the virus transmission routes and offer a trend analysis of the epidemic, which is of great significance for the containment of the virus.
“Science and technology are vital to combating pandemics.” Wang Chen commented. “Wuhan is the most severely affected area in China, so it should play a role in the construction of a nation-wide medical science and technology innovation system. The Wuhan Infectious Diseases and Cancer Research Center of the CAMS, established jointly by CAMS and Zhongnan Hospital of WHU, are making joint efforts to promote a more well-developed national medical science and technology innovation system.
Rewritten by Ruan Zehan
Edited by Yu Jianan, Zhou Siyan, Geng Jinwei, Zheng Yayun
Source: https://news.whu.edu.cn/info/1002/59186.htm?from=groupmessage
