An official of the National Health Commission (NHC) on Monday said that at least 70 per cent of China’s target population will likely be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of this year.
While talking to Xinhua news agency, Dr Zeng Yixin, the deputy head of the NHC, said that the locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases recorded recently indicate that the pandemic prevention and control situation continues to be grim.
Urging people not to hesitate as far as vaccination was concerned, Zeng insisted on making joint efforts to build the “Great Wall of Immunization”.
As per the NHC data, more than 763 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered across China so far.
On Sunday, Sinovac chairman Yin Weidong was mentioned as saying by the state-run Global Times that China has permitted the emergency use of CoronaVac, a COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Chinese firm Sinovac, for children aged between 3 and 17 years.
“But when the vaccine will be put into (emergency) use and starting from what age in the group has yet to be decided,” added Yin.
Yin had told China Central Television (CCTV) in an interview on Friday that Sinovac has concluded the Phase I and II clinical research stage.
Notably, the COVID-19 pandemic originated in the Wuhan city of China’s Hubei province in December 2019. So far, China has reported 91,248 confirmed coronavirus cases and 4,636 deaths.
In another development, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday underlined that Washington needs to delve deeper into the origins of COVID-19 and hold China accountable.
“The most important reason we have to get to the bottom of this is that’s the only way we’re going to be able to prevent the next pandemic or at least do a better job in mitigating it,” Blinken said in an interview with Axios.
Blinken added that the Joe Biden administration is committed to “get to the bottom” of the origins of the novel coronavirus.
He further urged China to furnish all information related to the pandemic and permit full access for international inspectors.
On Saturday, former president Donald Trump had called on the US and other nations to demand reparations from China because of the damage caused by the COVID-19.
