China Seeks Vaccination Of 50 Million Citizens Before Chinese New Year

JAKARTA - The Chinese government is targeting 50 million citizens to be immunized against the COVID-19 vaccine before the busy season for the homecoming of the Chinese New Year holidays.

To realize these targets, the National Health Commission of China (NHC) has standardized the construction of immunization sites and technical instructions for vaccine transport and storage, surveillance of vaccine reactions, and the availability of other facilities, according to reports concluded from several local media, Monday, December 4.

Sinopharm Group is also working to increase its production capacity after obtaining marketing approval for the COVID-19 vaccine since 31 December 2020.

The annual production capacity at its factory located on the outskirts of Beijing, which is currently only capable of 120 million doses, will be increased to 1 billion doses.

"As a producer, we remain responsible for ensuring the quality and quantity of vaccines," said Yang Xiaoming of Sinopharm.

Sinopharm obtained conditional marketing approval from China's drug regulatory authority after the results of its third phase clinical trial showed an efficacy rate of up to 79.34 percent.

The NHC also stated that all Chinese people will get the vaccine for free. "All Chinese citizens will get the free vaccine," said NHC Deputy Chief Zeng Yixin.

Previously, the Chinese government had also set a vaccine ransom price from the factory of 200 yuan, or around Rp.431,700 per dose.