China to Soon Begin Vaccinations for High-Risk Groups

Chinese COVID-19 vaccine arriving in Brazil (Guarulhos AFP=Yonhap News)=The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine developed by China's Sinovac arrived by air on the 19th (local time) at Guarulhos International Airport in S?o Paulo, Brazil, and is being unloaded.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] China announced that it plans to start COVID-19 vaccination beginning with high-risk groups such as medical personnel.

Zheng Yixin, Deputy Director of the National Health Commission of China, stated at a briefing on the 19th, "As winter temperatures drop, the epidemic prevention situation is becoming more serious."

Deputy Director Zheng emphasized, "The goal is to form herd immunity through vaccination to control COVID-19 as quickly and effectively as possible."

The vaccination priority group includes key groups exposed to infection risks, such as workers in cold chain logistics, customs, medical fields, fresh food markets, and public transportation. Next, the program will expand to hundreds of millions of elderly and patients with underlying conditions who are at high risk of infection, followed by the general public.

In July, China began an emergency use program for three vaccines targeting high-risk groups such as medical workers: two vaccines from Sinopharm (China National Pharmaceutical Group) and one from Sinovac (Kexing Biology). However, general use approval for COVID-19 vaccines has not yet been granted.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.