China in push to boost Covid-19 vaccination among elderly

Name: Protests flare across China over zero-Covid, lockdowns after deadly Urumqi fire
Uploaded: 2022-11-29T15:02:15.000Z
Duration: 3 min 59 s
Description: Protests flare across China over zero-Covid, lockdowns after deadly Urumqi fire

Authorities aim to get more people aged 60 and over vaccinated in plan unveiled after protests broke out across the country

State media meanwhile sends message that rules should be refined in line with cabinet’s ‘20 measures’ – but zero-Covid is here to stay

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Some 68.7 per cent of people in mainland China aged over 60 have had three Covid-19 shots, and authorities want more to get vaccinated. Photo: AFP

Jack Lau

Published: 11:02pm, 29 Nov 2022Updated: 12:34am, 30 Nov 2022

China has unveiled a plan to boost vaccination rates among the elderly and tackle what is seen as a key barrier to reopening borders and reviving an economy hit by nearly three years of strict Covid-19 controls.

It aims to boost the vaccination rate for people aged 60 and above – particularly those over 80 – and reduce severe outcomes including death, amid a wave of new cases that shows no sign of slowing.

In a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday, top health officials also took aim at local governments for using blunt instruments to curb infections and being opaque with lockdown measures, without explicitly mentioning protests that have taken place across China against the zero-Covid policy.

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Protests flare across China over zero-Covid, lockdowns after deadly Urumqi fire

But state media sent an emphatic message on Tuesday, that while rules should be refined in line with the State Council’s “20 measures” announced earlier this month, it should not be seen as a relaxation or opening up – and that the zero-Covid policy is here to stay.

Days after the protests broke out, some local governments – such as those in Guangdong province – have relaxed their quarantine and lockdown policies in a move aiming to minimise impact on everyday life, apparently with Beijing’s blessing.

Mainland China is one of the last places still pursuing a zero-tolerance policy on Covid-19, which first emerged nearly three years ago in the city of Wuhan. Most other places have scrapped rules on quarantine, mask wearing and contact tracing to restart their economies after reaching herd immunity by mass infection or vaccination.

“In the next step, we will seriously implement the requirements of the plan, guide local authorities to carefully organise, prepare and improve vaccination services, and do well to provide coronavirus booster shots and vaccination for the elderly,” said Xia Gang, deputy director of the Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control.