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China expects to produce 3 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine by the end of the year
- An official from the National Health Commission says the country will be ‘fully capable of meeting our own demand’ within months
- China aims to inoculate 40 per cent of its population by the end of June, but is scrambling to produce enough vaccines
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China’s coronavirus vaccine production is expected to hit 3 billion doses by the end of the year, according to the country’s health agency.
National Health Commission official Zheng Zhongwei made the prediction – which is in line with previous estimates by other health experts – at a conference in Sichuan province on Saturday.
“In the second half of this year, will be are fully capable of meeting our own demand,” said Zheng, who also heads the national Covid-19 vaccine task force.
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The government has set a goal of vaccinating 40 per cent of its 1.4 billion population by the end of June, but faces an uphill struggle to meet the target, in part because of a lack of supplies.
However, Chinese pharmaceutical companies are rapidly expanding their production lines to manufacture Covid-19 vaccines to meet domestic demand.
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One drug company, Sinovac, will double its capacity from 1 billion doses in February to 2 billion after completing a third production line this month, according to company announcements.
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