China to Provide Free COVID-19 Vaccinations to 1.4 Billion Citizens

COVID-19 vaccine sample from China's Sinopharm [AP=Yonhap News photo]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Chinese health authorities have announced that they will provide free COVID-19 vaccinations to the entire population.

According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 10th, the Chinese State Council stated at a joint epidemic prevention press conference the previous day that, in addition to healthcare workers and other emergency COVID-19 vaccination recipients, the general public will also receive the vaccine free of charge.

They added, "Individuals receiving the vaccine do not need to bear any costs other than the vaccine purchase price."

Qing Yixin, Deputy Director of the National Health Commission of China, said, "Previously, under the free vaccination policy, emergency vaccination recipients received the vaccine free of charge. Since the approval of domestically produced vaccines on the 31st of last month, those wishing to be vaccinated have had the vaccine purchase cost and medical service fees jointly covered by medical insurance funds and government finances."

He continued, "Now, individuals have no costs to bear at all," and stated, "The State Council's joint epidemic prevention response team will request revisions to relevant local regulations under its name."

Meanwhile, in China, priority vaccination is being implemented in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, focusing on medical personnel, workers handling imported frozen foods, customs officials, and public transportation workers.

Deputy Director Qing Yixin revealed that China has already administered 9 million vaccine doses, saying, "Of the 9 million doses administered, 7.5 million were given after the formal start of vaccinations for key groups on the 15th of last month."

Chinese health authorities are promoting the achievement of herd immunity through vaccination to prevent the spread of infection ahead of the Spring Festival, China's largest holiday, which involves massive population movement.

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