China | An old problem

Why so many elderly Chinese are unvaccinated

Some are complacent, others are afraid

|BEIJING

FOR WEEKS the authorities in Shanghai tried to stem an outbreak of covid-19 with a whack-a-mole approach. Individual buildings were locked down, only for the virus to spread elsewhere. Finally, on March 28th, officials decided to lock down all of the city’s 25m residents in two phases, beginning with the east side of town, home to the main financial centre. People scrambled to buy supplies. Vegetables became scarce. Some bankers began sleeping in their offices.

This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “An old problem”

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