Beijing will introduce a number of public health initiatives as part of its health care reform to provide basic services to the majority of its population, including free hepatitis B vaccinations for under-15s.
Health vice-minister Zhang Mao announced during a meeting yesterday that 23.3 million people, or 31 per cent of the target group, would be vaccinated this year.
The government plans, within three years, to give hepatitis B vaccines to everyone under 15, according to the ministry's report.
The mainland has one-third of hepatitis B carriers in the world, and 'expanding the scope of immunisation is one the most effective ways to control a hepatitis B epidemic', the report said.
The measure is among six health projects that officially began yesterday, against the backdrop of reforms unveiled in April that sought to provide affordable and accessible medical services with an injection of 850 billion yuan (HK$965 billion) over three years.
The reform aims to provide urban and rural residents the same basic care.