BEIJING (Reuters) – China will provide COVID-19 vaccines for free once they are available to the general public, government officials said on Saturday.
National Health Commission official Zheng Zhongwei said that while vaccine manufacturing and transportation have costs, the government can provide vaccines to people for free.
“Our people don’t have to pay a penny for the vaccine,” Zheng told a news conference in Beijing.
In late December, China approved its first vaccine for general public use. Three vaccines had already been administered to limited groups at high risk of infection, including medical workers, through an emergency use program.
The country extended the inoculation scheme in mid-December to more key groups such as food and public transport employees, in an effort to curb a resurgence in winter and spring.
These vaccines are also free for people, said Zeng Yixin, head of the National Health Commission.
“We found that some local governments had charged fees to individuals, we demanded an immediate rectification,” Zeng said at the briefing, adding that since then local governments have properly implemented the free vaccination policy.
Zeng said China has administered more than 9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Of this total, more than 7 million have been administered since mid-December.
Nearly 140,000 people in Hebei Province have taken doses of COVID-19 vaccine, said Cui Gang, an official of the National Health Commission, which is part of China’s vaccination plan targeting specific high-risk groups. infection.
The provincial capital, Shijiazhuang, has become a new transmission hub. Local authorities suspended public transportation throughout the city in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.
“Currently, Hebei Province should accelerate progress as soon as possible and complete key group vaccination as soon as possible,” Cui said.
Reports by Yew Lun Tian, Roxanne Liu and Martin Pollard in Beijing; Written by Josh Horwitz; Edited by Lincoln Feast and Richard Pullin