China says more than a billion doses of coronavirus vaccine have been administered

Administered China more than 1 billion doses of vaccines against the coronavirus, the Ministry of Health announced on Sunday, without specifying the percentage of the population that has received a full vaccination.

The number of injected doses represents more than a third of the world total. On Friday, the world had crossed the 2.5 billion dose mark, according to an AFP count based on official sources.

The Chinese did not rush to get vaccinated because the virus is almost eradicated in the country for over a year, thanks to mandatory quarantines, mass testing and mobile apps to control movement.

Lack of data initially available on Chinese vaccines and past scandals of adulterated doses in China as well They have helped demotivate some people.

Faced with this, the government and businesses they strongly urged residents and employees to get vaccinated. In some cases, authorities offer vouchers or eggs to encourage vaccination.

In total, they have already been administered 1,010 million doses, specified the Ministry of Health.

Few cases

Health authorities reported on Sunday 23 new cases in 24 hours, all arrived from abroad and were placed in solitary confinement.

China hopes to have vaccinated at least 70% of its population before the year, or about 1 billion people.

They are currently approved four vaccines in the country, all Chinese: one from the private laboratory Sinovac, two from the state-owned giant Sinopharm and one from the pharmaceutical company CanSino Biologics.

German company vaccine BioNTech It could also receive the green light in the coming months, in particular thanks to an agreement with a local partner.

They only recorded two dead by covid-19 in 13 months in China. Shops, restaurants and bars reopened in spring 2020 and public opinion is generally very satisfied with the government’s management of the crisis.

The national vaccination campaign in China is open to people over 18. The country has approved the emergency use of national inactivated vaccines for people aged 3 to 17 years. Detailed policies for the vaccination of this age group will be formulated based on the specific COVID-19 situation.

At least 70% of the target population in China should be vaccinated against COVID-19 before the end of this year, according to Zeng Yixin, deputy director of the commission.

China’s large-scale vaccination campaign has shown that Chinese COVID-19 vaccines are safe, Zeng said, noting the incidence rates of common side effects and abnormal reactions caused by COVID-19 vaccines. were below average numberss reported by various vaccines included in the country’s regular immunization plans in 2019.

Source: AFP and Xinhua

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