A volunteer works at a nucleic acid testing site in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Aug. 7, 2022. Prevention and control measures have been taken in Sanya to fight against the new resurgence of COVID-19 in the city. Photo: Xinhua

Zeng Xiaopeng, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Health Commission, has been appointed head of the municipal administration of disease prevention and control, according to the commission's website.

Observers said it indicates that the administration has been officially established, a latest step in the capital's way to reform local disease prevention and control system along with a national strategy in the field.

With a strong professional background, Zeng has served in the National Health Commission, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and participated in public health work for major events like the Olympic Games, according to the information released on the website of the Beijing Municipal Health Commission.

The Beijing authority in December 2021 released a plan to build local health system during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. According to the plan, Beijing will establish a new disease prevention and control system in accordance to the national reform plan of disease prevention and control system and the Beijing authorities' arrangement. A local administration of disease prevention and control will be established, according to the plan.

China continues to focus on reform across its disease prevention and control system after COVID-19 stroke the country to deal with problems and loopholes in the system revealed during the epidemic. In May 2021, the country inaugurated a national administration of disease prevention and control, with five major functions including formulating policies for the prevention and control of infectious diseases.

In an article published in the Chinese Journal of Epidemiology in January 2022, Shen Hongbing, deputy head of the National Disease Control Administration, called for rethinking the function orientation of the disease control and prevention institution, the key and difficult points in institutional mechanism reform and the building of core competence and essential capacity of disease control and prevention system in order to reform and develop China's disease control and prevention institution in the new era.

The problems and shortcomings revealed in our response to COVID-19 epidemic include weak capacity, rigid mechanisms and loose connection between disease control and prevention and disease treatment, according to Shen's article. These problems and shortcomings have suggested that we should take measures to improve the disease control and prevention system of China, Shen noted.

The establishment of the national administration of disease prevention and control signals the expansion of the roles of disease prevention and control agencies from preventing and containing diseases to comprehensively safeguarding and promoting the health of the entire population, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The move marks a key step toward deepening reform of the country's disease prevention and control system. It will accelerate fixing loopholes in the public health system and enhance the country's epidemic response capacity, experts said.

Global Times