China confirms leaders have been given Covid shot in ‘show of confidence’ in home-made vaccines as country seeks to boost take-up rates
- While other world leaders were photographed being vaccinated to boost take-up rates, Beijing had previously stayed silent on the topic
- Zeng Yixin from the National Health Commission says party and state leaders have ‘a high level of trust in the vaccines produced by our country’
Zeng Yixin, deputy head of the National Health Commission, told a press conference on Saturday that senior party and state leaders have all been fully vaccinated with Chinese shots.
Zheng said the vaccinations show the high trust the party and state leaders have in Chinese vaccines.
Unlike many other countries, where senior politicians were shown receiving their jabs to encourage take-up rates, China has up till now been quiet about the vaccine status of its leaders.
“It fully illustrates how our country’s leaders attach high attention to the control and prevention of the pandemic and the high level of trust they have for the vaccines produced by our country,” Zeng said.
He added that foreign state leaders from over 30 countries, including Cambodia, Indonesia and Turkey, had also received vaccines made by China.