Health officials in China announced that the number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has surpassed one billion, accounting for more than a third of all doses supplied worldwide.
According to an AFP count based on official sources, the number of shots provided globally reached 2.5 billion on Friday, according to the National Health Commission’s declaration.
Authorities have set an ambitious goal of vaccinating 40% of the country’s population of almost 1.4 billion people by the end of this month.
To urge people to roll up their sleeves, some provinces are providing free immunizations. Free eggs have been distributed to residents of central Anhui province, and shopping coupons have been distributed to select Beijing residents.
China accelerates vaccine doses as delta strain strikes megacities
A recent epidemic of the virus’s more contagious Delta strain in Guangzhou, China’s southernmost metropolis, has served as a wake-up call for many who have been dragging their feet.
On Sunday, China reported 23 new coronavirus infections.
The government has four conditionally licenced vaccines, but their published efficacy rates trail rival vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which have success rates of 95 percent and 94 percent, respectively.
Trials of Sinovac’s injection in Brazil revealed roughly 50% efficacy in preventing infection and 80% efficacy in preventing cases requiring medical intervention, according to Sinovac.
Sinopharm’s two vaccines have efficacy rates of 79 and 72 percent, respectively, while CanSino’s overall efficacy after 28 days is 65 percent.
Many of them require two doses to be effective.
China’s national news outlet Xinhua stated in April that the country expects to produce more than three billion vaccination doses this year.
China’s health authorities have not stated when the country would achieve herd immunity or how much of its vaccine doses will be exported.
