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Vaccinations for the general public against COVID-19 are expected to
start around Spring Festival, which begins on Feb 12, China's health
authorities said. By Saturday, China had administered over 9 million shots of COVID-19
vaccine to people deemed at high risk of contracting the disease,
including workers in customs, medicine and healthcare, the cold chain
industry, public transportation, and produce and seafood markets, and no
severe abnormal reactions had been reported, said senior health
officials. As vaccine production ramps up, the rollout will gradually cover
other demographics including the general public, Zeng Yixin,
vice-minister of the National Health Commission, said during a news
briefing held by the State Council Information Office on Saturday. The
public can receive the vaccine free of charge, he added. China began mass vaccination of prioritized personnel on Dec 15 with
an inactivated vaccine developed by State-owned Sinopharm Group. The
two-dose vaccine, created by the China National Biotec Group, a
subsidiary of Sinopharm, was approved for emergency use in China in
July. On Dec 30, it became the first anti-COVID vaccine to receive
conditional approval from the country's top drug regulator after showing
79.34 percent efficacy in the ongoing stage-3 clinical trials. The trials are taking place in several countries, including the
United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which both approved the vaccine in
December, according to the company. "Since China approved emergency use of the vaccine in July, more than
a million doses have been administered with no serious side effects.
Around 70,000 people who got vaccinated have gone to high-risk
countries, and no serious infection was reported," the company said in
an email to China Daily. Feng Zijian, deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease
Control and Prevention, said the two-dose vaccine may induce minor
reactions, such as redness, swelling or pain around the injection site,
which is normal for all vaccines. "This vaccine is produced through the inactivated vaccine technique,
which is a mature method and guarantees a high level of safety and
efficacy," Feng said in an interview with China National Radio. Zeng, the vice-minister, said the country has established
comprehensive protocols for vaccination, including monitoring and
handling of side effects. The vaccine is also able to neutralize the new strain of the novel
coronavirus that was reported to be behind the rise in transmission of
the disease in parts of the United Kingdom, Zeng added, citing recent
research by Chinese scientists. Cui Gang, a senior official at the National Health Commission's
Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control, said China has established
25,392 vaccine locations across the country, along with detailed
regulations and plans for the handling and administering of the vaccine. Zhang Wenhong, leader of the Shanghai team of experts on the clinical
treatment of COVID-19, said on his micro blog that the prompt and
efficient popularization of COVID-19 vaccines at home and abroad will
effectively curb the growth of the pandemic.
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