China has promised to provide free COVID-19 vaccines to all its citizens. Deputy Head of the National Health Commission, Zeng Yixin, made the disclosure at a news conference on Thursday. The vaccine is a public good by its nature, and the price may vary based on the scale of use, but an important premise is that it will be provided to the public for free," Yixin said. China approved its first homegrown coronavirus vaccine for general public use on Thursday, with officials promising to provide the general public with free inoculations. The approved inactivate vaccine has shown 79.34 percent efficacy against COVID-19, according to the interim results of the phase-3 clinical trials unveiled by its development on Wednesday.
“All Chinese people will receive this vaccine free of charge.
“China will vaccinate the eligible population as widely as possible and gradually build an immune barrier in the whole population to control the epidemic,’’ the NHC official said.
Since December 15, more than 3 million vaccine doses have been administered to "key groups," Yixin said. That's on top of the 1.5 million doses administered to "high-risk groups" by the end of November, he added.
According to Yixin among those inoculated, fewer than 0.1% developed a light fever, and about two people per million developed "relative serious adverse reactions" such as allergies.
After the COVID-19 vaccines are approved to enter the market, especially when production capacity increases, China will comprehensively vaccinate senior citizens, people with underlying conditions and the general public in an orderly manner.
He added that 60 or even 70 per cent of the vaccination rate is needed to establish universal protection.
A Foreign Ministry official, Shen Bo, also said, “Once the Chinese COVID-19 vaccines are developed and put into use, China will fulfil its commitment to make the vaccines global public goods and provide them to the world at a fair and reasonable price.’’
She added that China has always attached relevance to the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in developing countries.
China has considered making available vaccines to developing countries in various ways, including donations and free aid.
