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China vaccination rates skyrocket as millions respond to Covid-19 outbreaks

  • More than 15 million doses delivered in a single day after photo studio cluster highlights urgent need for wider protection
  • Expert estimates daily rates could reach 20 million if needed, roughly half of California’s population

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Covid-19 vaccination rates increased in China after it was reported none of the people recently infected had been vaccinated. Photo: Xinhua
Zhuang Pinghuiin Beijing
China has smashed its Covid-19 vaccination records, with more than 15 million doses administered on Monday in response to local outbreaks of the disease which were traced to the port city of Yingkou in the northeastern province of Liaoning.

It was also the sixth day in a row that more than 10 million doses were administered nationwide. China started reporting daily vaccinations in late March. It took 25 days to reach 200 million shots, 16 days to 300 million, but only nine days to achieve the 400 million milestone on Sunday.

Shao Yiming, a researcher with China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and an expert in Covid- 19 vaccine development, told state broadcaster CCTV that daily inoculations could reach 20 million if needed. That is the equivalent of roughly half of the population of California.

“Vaccine supplies are increased with demand for vaccine prevention and control. The whole country is being immunised in an orderly manner. People should feel urgency but no need for panic. Our supplies are sufficient and production capacity is increasing gradually,” Shao said.

Shao said, with increased supplies in the second half of the year, herd immunity could be achieved within the year.

Vaccination rates gained pace after the gradual increase in vaccine production but accelerated after a Covid-19 case was reported on Thursday in Anhui province, eastern China, which was soon traced to a photo studio cluster in Yingkou. There was a sharp rise in enthusiasm for vaccination in both provinces after it was reported none of the 18 new cases had been vaccinated.

Previously, vaccination rates in Anhui and Liaoning had fallen behind, with fewer than 20 doses per 100 people administered, compared to the national average of 29.

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