China has administered 149.97 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of today according to the country’s National Health Commission (NHC).
The Asian power giant is working to ensure its vaccination efforts in major areas and key industries based on the overall plan of the country, inoculating the eligible population as widely as possible and progressing in stages, said Wu Liangyou, deputy director of the NHC’s Disease Prevention and Control Bureau.
The country is gathering resources to ensure inoculation in large- and medium-sized cities, port cities, and border areas with high risks of infection, and priorities are given to key groups including public sector employees, students, and faculty of colleges and universities, as well as service staff of large supermarkets, Wu said, adding that vaccination for other groups is also in progress.
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At present, Beijing, Shanghai, and some other places in China have administered COVID-19 vaccines to senior citizens above the age of 60 and patients with chronic diseases who are willing to be vaccinated and in good physical conditions.
He Qinghua, an official with the NHC, noted that the commission will advance the vaccination campaign in an order of priority, following the principle of informed consent, voluntary participation, and free inoculation.
The country is coordinating regular prevention and control with its vaccination efforts, ensuring that the regulatory responsibility of local governments and the oversight responsibility is fulfilled, and advancing its vaccination campaign in a more secure, orderly, and forceful manner, he said.
Besides, China is also taking steps to include more people in its vaccination campaign to ensure their health, the official added.
So far, China has approved COVID-19 vaccines produced by five enterprises for conditional marketing or emergency use.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK