People receive Covid-19 vaccines at a temporary vaccination center in Beijing on January 8th
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China has administered more than 9 million coronavirus vaccines as the country prepares for a possible increase in infections during the winter.
Some 7.5 million doses have been administered since Dec. 15, officials said at a briefing in Beijing. Vaccines are free for all citizens and the costs will be covered by the health care fund and tax budgets, they said.
China sees an increased risk of the virus spreading in the winter as people travel and gather for vacations, National Health Commission Deputy Director Zeng Yixin told reporters.
The launch of vaccination focuses first on high-risk population groups because production capacity cannot be maintained, Zeng said. Capacity is constantly increasing now and will allow dose administration to the general public, he said, without giving a timeline.
Zeng said “China is” active, open and supportive “on a World Health Organization visit to Wuhan to investigate the origins of the virus. China has trained its own experts to work with WHO experts. in Wuhan.He said the timing of the arrival of the WHO team in China is still confirmed.
– With the assistance of John Liu and Dingmin Zhang
(Add comments on vaccine costs, WHO in the second and last paragraph)