China plans to expand mass domestic inoculations

With four vaccines approved for public use in China and nearly 82.85 million Covid-19 doses administered, the nation plans to expand its domestic inoculation programme.

CAPE TOWN, March 26 (ANA) – With four vaccines approved for public use in China and nearly 82.85 million Covid-19 doses administered, the nation plans to step things up further and expand its domestic inoculation programme.

According to a statement on the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China’s website on Thursday, more than 100 million doses of locally produced vaccines have been delivered within China.

The government is implementing a three-step approach to its mass immunisation programme by first inoculating high-risk groups, followed by vaccinating the elderly and people with chronic illness, and lastly, the rest of the public who want to be vaccinated.

Beijing has led the way with a robust inoculation system which can administer more than 300,000 Covid-19 doses daily, which includes door-to-door vaccination services as well as medium- to large-scale vaccination sites.

“We must attach great importance to the vaccination work and continue to ramp up vaccination efforts,” said National Health Commission Minister Ma Xiaowei.

“We must ensure the safety of inoculation services and boost their accessibility and convenience,” he said.

According to the State Council’s Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism, the focus will be to expand the vaccination of people working in health care, education and other key industries, as well as those employed in large markets.

People working in labour-intensive industries and those who live near the borders and ports will also be given priority.

Head of the Shanghai expert team for Covid-19 treatment, Zhang Wenhong, said in order for the country to achieve herd immunity, at least 70% of the population needs to be fully inoculated.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher