Nationwide vaccination campaign speeds up

China's COVID-19 vaccination campaign has picked up speed in the past week, allowing the country to take the initiative in upgrading its virus-control policies, according to official data and authorities.

The mainland administered 3.1 million doses on Dec 20 and 3.6 million the following day, up from the daily average of less than 1.5 million in the previous two weeks, National Health Commission data shows.

The number of doses administered on Thursday and Friday dipped, but remained relatively high at about 2.27 million for each day.

China's vaccination rates have increased as the country ramps up efforts to expand immunization of the elderly and other vulnerable people. These groups are lagging behind in being vaccinated due to a lack of understanding of the virus' threat and concerns over adverse reactions, experts have warned.

Following the rollout of 10 measures that changed the focus from preventing infections to treating infected patients, the State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism on Dec 7 released two documents to accelerate mass immunization of seniors and to administer a second booster shot to people at high-risk and vulnerable groups.

"The action plan on elderly vaccination clarified contraindications for the elderly, and we have organized training to urge localities to correctly identify seniors eligible for vaccines," Xia Gang, an official with the National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control, said at a recent news briefing.

Vaccination stations should be equipped with first aid workers and emergency medication to comfort those who are fearful of adverse effects from the vaccines, Xia added.

Health authorities in Xining, capital of Qinghai, said on Thursday that the city had become the first in the province to achieve vaccination targets for seniors and the elderly, which were set by the State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism on Dec 6.

By the end of the month, 95 percent of people aged between 60 and 79 should be fully vaccinated or get an additional booster shot. The rates for those aged 80 and above should be over 90 percent.

By Dec 20, Xining officials said they had fully vaccinated nearly 93.7 percent of seniors aged 80 and above who can be safely vaccinated. A first booster shot has also been given to about 93 percent of them.

The city has allocated vehicles to transport elderly people who are having difficulties moving, and provided door-to-door services. Each county or district has also surveyed and cataloged the immunization status of seniors in their area.

Zheng Zhongwei, head of the country's vaccine development task force, said that strict containment of domestic outbreaks in the past two years has won precious time for advancing mass immunization.

"We called on all the elderly, especially those aged 80 and above, to get vaccinated and booster shots," he said at a recent news conference, adding that expediting immunization among the elderly would facilitate future efforts to upgrade its COVID-19 control strategy.

Wang Yuxia, a 71-year-old resident in Beijing's Haidian district, obtained her second booster dose — an inhaled vaccine made by CanSino Biologics — on Dec 20.

"The country has devoted huge resources and manpower to develop vaccines and promote vaccination, and I believe in its efficacy and safety," she said. "I've been looking forward to the second booster shot for a long time and made an appointment with the community healthcare center on Dec 16 immediately after seeing the notice."