JAKARTA - China raced to vaccinate its most vulnerable population on Thursday to anticipate a wave of COVID-19 infections, as analysts forecast the death toll will spike after China loosened tight controls that have contained the pandemic for three years.
The push comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) also voiced concern that 1.4 billion Chinese people were not vaccinated adequately.
China, which says about 90 percent of its population has been vaccinated against COVID-19, has now decided to launch a second booster dose for high-risk groups and elderly people over 60.
National Health Commission spokesman Mi Feng said it was necessary to speed up vaccination promotions, according to comments reported by state media.
The latest official data shows China had administered 1.43 million COVID vaccines on Tuesday, well above the figure in November of around 100,000-200,000 doses a day. In total, it has administered 3.45 billion doses.
Beijing mostly does not use vaccines and western care, as it relies on locally made vaccines. Pfizer Paxlovid's COVID-19 oral treatment is one of the few foreign drugs that has been approved.
Last Wednesday, the government began dismantling tough 'zero-COVID' controls, revoking testing requirements and loosening quarantine rules that have caused anxiety for tens of millions of people, destroying the world's second-largest economy.
"There is a narrative that China is currently lifting restrictions and suddenly the disease is out of control," said WHO Emergency Director Mike Ryan.
"The disease spreads intensively because I believe control measures themselves do not stop the disease," he said.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said China has "institutional advantages" against COVID.
"We will definitely be able to get through the peak of the epidemic smoothly," he told a regular press conference in response to White House national security spokesman John Kirby, who said the United States was ready to help if China asked him.
There are signs of increased chaos during changes in China's approach, including long queues outside the fever clinic, running out of drugs and panic buying across the country.
Pada Kamis malam, regulator aset negara China mendesak pembuat obat besar yang didukung negara untuk memastikan pasokan obat-obatan terkait COVID.
"The authorities have allowed cases in Beijing and other cities to spread to the point where continuing restrictions, testing and tracking will be highly ineffective in controlling the outbreak," analysts at the Eurasia Group said.
"More than 1 million people could die from COVID in the coming months," he continued.
Other experts have mentioned the potential for victims of more than 2 million. So far, China has reported around 5,235 COVID-19-related deaths, relatively low by global standards.
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