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Coronavirus: Chinese province gives free vaccines to priority groups in push for herd immunity
- Programme to be completed before Lunar New Year, when millions head home for the holidays
- Health officials warn that social distancing and good hygiene will still need to be observed
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The southern Chinese province of Guangdong is offering free Covid-19 vaccinations for people in high-priority groups as it reinforces its defences against the disease and tries to build herd immunity.
Duan Yufei, head of the Guangdong Health Commission, said on Wednesday the inoculation campaign was under way but people still needed to observe social distancing rules and good hygiene because vaccines alone would not be enough to end the pandemic.
The coronavirus that causes Covid-19 has infected more than 78 million people worldwide since it was first detected in China a year ago. It is under control within the country and there have been just over 2,000 confirmed cases in Guangdong overall.
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Duan said the province had made steady progress in its inoculation plans.
“As of December 22, a total of 180,000 people have been vaccinated in Guangdong province and so far there have been no adverse events,” he said.
He said people in priority groups would be vaccinated free and in a programme to be completed before the Lunar New Year, which falls on February 11.
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