A community volunteer wearing personal protective equipment disinfects an area before conducting a test for COVID-19 during a lockdown in Pudong district in Shanghai on April 17. Photo: Liu Jin/AFP via Getty Images
Ashish Jha, the White House's COVID-19 response coordinator, said Sunday that he does not think a "zero-COVID" strategy, similar to the one adopted in China, is likely to work.
The big picture: China's "zero-COVID" strategy, which seeks to stamp out COVID-19 altogether, has led to strict lockdowns as cases rise.
- The nation locked down its largest city, Shanghai, in late March. The lockdown has resulted in food shortages and disruptions in medical care for residents.
Driving the news: Jha said on "Fox News Sunday" that he thinks the strategy is unlikely to work.
- "I think it's very difficult at this point with a highly contagious variant to be able to curtail this through lockdowns alone," Jha said.
- "That's why our strategy, which we have advocated, is people should get vaccinated and boosted," he added. "We should make sure treatments are available. That is a much more effective, long-term, durable strategy for living with this virus."