Low levels of natural immunity are complicating China’s efforts to contain the spread during a recent spike in cases of a new sub-variant of Covid omicron BA.2, Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Monday.
“The Chinese population is very vulnerable to this new option. This is a much more contagious option, it will be harder to control, and they do not have a population with natural immunity, ”- former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. said in an interview with “Squawk Box”.
A sub-variant of the BA.2 omicron, colloquially referred to as the “stealth omicron”, was first identified in late 2021.
“They have not deployed vaccines that are very effective against this particular variant, this omicron variant, and so they are very vulnerable to distribution right now. They didn’t use the time they bought themselves to actually take action that would prevent the spread of omicrons,” said Gottlieb, who sits on the board of directors of Covid vaccine maker Pfizer.
A rising number of BA.2 cases in mainland China led some major cities on Monday to close non-essential businesses and move schools to online learning. The outbreak is the worst on the mainland since the peak of the pandemic in 2020, and the stern response to it points to the continuation of China’s strategy to combat the coronavirus.
China’s COVID-19 policy entails strict quarantines and travel restrictions both domestically and abroad. While the policy has been successful in containing the number of cases since the height of the pandemic, health officials have warned that China’s lack of exposure to Covid leaves it vulnerable to more difficult strains to control, such as Omicron.
China’s latest omicron outbreak also has economic implications as it could cripple already struggling supply chains, especially for technology companies.
Apple shares fell more than 2% at noon as health care orders from the Chinese city of Shenzhen halted manufacturing operations at Foxconn, an important supplier to the iPhone maker. Operations will resume after Foxconn receives government approval to do so, the company told CNBC.
Gottlieb said the outbreak in China could be larger than reported, adding to the uncertainty of the situation.
“We don’t really know how big the outbreak is in China right now,” Gottlieb said. “We don’t know if there are tens of thousands of cases or hundreds of thousands of cases.”
Mainland China reported 1,437 new confirmed cases as of Sunday, for a total of 8,531 active cases domestically.
“People will get infected in those houses where they are isolating people now, and the big question is: how much infection do they have and how long will it last?” Gottlieb said.
Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC correspondent and board member of Pfizer, genetic testing startup Tempus, medical tech company Aetion, and biotech company Illumina. He is also co-chairman of the Healthy Sail Panel from Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean.