Do we need another shot? China's COVID-19 resurgence tops 520,000 cases

COVID-19 is spreading again in China, with more than 520,000 cases reported in July alone — stoking fears of a renewed wave in South Korea as well.

China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported approximately 522,000 new COVID-19 cases in July. Of those, 487 patients were in serious condition and one died.

The COVID-19 positivity rate among patients with influenza-like symptoms visiting outpatient and emergency departments at 1,041 sentinel hospitals across China climbed to 21.2 percent in the week of July 27 to Aug. 2 — a rise of 13 percentage points over five weeks.

However, the pace of increase has slowed somewhat, and most infections have been mild. Chinese health authorities view the current situation as distinct from the pandemic-era outbreaks of the past.

Cases are also rising in South Korea. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's Week 33 respiratory virus surveillance report put the COVID-19 detection rate among respiratory samples collected from 106 medical institutions nationwide at 9.1 percent for the week of Aug. 9 to Aug. 15.

The upward trend has been clear in recent weeks. The detection rate rose from 3.2 percent in Week 30 to 5.9 percent in Week 31, dipped slightly to 5.7 percent in Week 32, then reached 9.1 percent in Week 33 — roughly 2.8 times the level recorded three weeks earlier.

Hospitalizations have followed the same trajectory. The number of COVID-19 inpatients at hospital-level facilities rose from 23 in Week 30 to 27 in Week 31, 48 in Week 32 and 56 in Week 33 — a 2.4-fold increase.

Experts say the scale of the outbreak is difficult to predict and have called for careful management of vaccine supply in the early stages of any rollout. Last year, COVID-19 vaccines ran out faster than expected at some medical facilities, leaving elderly patients and other vulnerable groups unable to get vaccinated on time.