Wu Zhenglong, governor of Jiangsu province, demanded speedy efforts to accelerate COVID-19 inoculation across the province at a provincial teleconference held on Monday.
Wu Zhenglong pointed out that vaccination is an effective means to prevent and control COVID-19, adding that the administering of free doses of the vaccine for all is a major decision and deployment made by the Party Central Committee and the State Council, thereby of great significance and also an arduous task.
He called for intensified efforts to ensure mass inoculation is carried out from the political height of strengthening the four consciousnesses and the four self-confidences, safeguarding the authority of the CPC Central Committee and getting united around the centralized and unified leadership the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core.
He asked the local authorities to ensure careful organization and implementation, administering vaccination in an orderly and safe manner, strengthen departmental coordination, guarantee vaccination safety management, and severely crack down on all kinds of illegal activities involving inoculation.
China will start mass COVID-19 vaccinations for people over age 60 after it receives sufficient data from clinical trials on the effectiveness and safety of the vaccines, a senior health official said on March 21.
Research and development of vaccines for older adults is speeding up, and some regions have started vaccinating people over 60 who are in good health, He Qinghua, an official at the National Health Commission, said at a news conference.
A total of 74.96 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered by midnight of March 20. The country will gradually increase the scale of its mass COVID-19 vaccinations in a safe, orderly manner, he said.
The cost of COVID-19 vaccination, including both vaccines' expenses and inoculation fees, will be covered by medical insurance fund and government fiscal, rather than individuals, the Chinese government said in January.
The free vaccination will be carried out based on the risks of infection of different groups, and participation will be voluntary, He said.
Some people might think it is not urgent for them to get vaccinated as China has successfully controlled the virus, but it is still raging globally and no one can stay detached from the world, he said.
He Qinghua said that vaccination is the most effective way to control the epidemic. He hopes the public can get vaccinated quickly.
