According to China's Constitution and other legislation, individuals have a right to health. In the COVID-19 era, several obstacles have hampered the full realisation of the right to health. Big data technology has been a hot topic of discussion because it has been used to protect the right to health in China through public health surveillance, contact tracing, real-time epidemic outbreak monitoring, trend forecasting, online consultations, and the allocation of medical and health resources. Due to Chinese institutional characteristics, big data technology has enabled accurate and efficient epidemic prevention and control, as well as increased the efficiency and accuracy of diagnosis and treatment of this novel kind of coronavirus pneumonia. Although big data technology has helped to contain the virus and safeguard the right to health in the COVID-19 age, it also has the potential to infringe on individual privacy rights. Chinese politicians should be aware of the benefits and drawbacks of big data technologies, and should make the Personal Information Protection Law and other laws aimed at protecting and strengthening the right to privacy a top priority.
