COVID-19: China aims to vaccinate 50 million as Lunar New Year celebrations loom large

With the festivities of Lunar New Year looming large over China, the country’s administration is rushing to vaccinate as many as 50 million people. The Asian giant, where the pandemic allegedly began, reported a fresh fatality earlier this week, after eight months of successful recovery. Meanwhile, the new outbreak in the country’s northeastern region- Manchuria- has sparked concerns pushing nearly 23 million of its population into strict lockdown.

The Xi Jinping administration has approved a locally manufactured vaccine by Sinovac for mass inoculation. In addendum, it has also given emergency use authorization to several other vaccine jabs for targeted vaccination of specific groups. With three of major cities lockdown, health authorities now aim to inoculate 3.5 per cent of its total residents before the New Year commences on February 11 and people start crisscrossing the nation to visit friends and family.

Most ambitious vaccination drive

In what is being dubbed as one of the most ambitious vaccination programme in the world, the Chinese vaccination drive involves more than 25,300 sites across a reported 75 cities and rural villages, delivering vaccines in two doses about 21 days apart. First announced in December 2020, the country aims to provides both the shots, absolutely free of cost. As per a report by The Guardian, vaccination clinics have received either the emergency-approved Sinovac vaccine (for key workers) or the conditionally approved Sinopharm vaccine (for the wider population).

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According to a recent report by John Hopkins University, China has reported 97,448 cases and 4,796 fatalities till now. With new death being reported, people have flocked to Weibo, which is a Twitter-like platform operated in China, to express their reaction using ‘New Virus death in Hebei’. "I haven't seen the words 'virusdeath' in so long, it's a bit shocking! I hope the epidemic can pass soon," one user wrote. Meanwhile, authorities in the capital city of Beijing have begun mass testing with Associated Press reporting hundreds of citizens lining up in freezing temperatures to get tested.  

Meanwhile, experts set by the World Health Organization (WHO) finally landed in the Chinese city of Wuhan on Thursday, January 14. The team is now tasked with probing into the origins of the lethal coronavirus infection that has killed nearly two billion people across the globe.

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Image: Associated Press