Chinese cities get tough to hasten Covid-19 vaccination, but face outbreaks of criticism
- Unvaccinated people in some cities to be denied entry to places such as hospital inpatient services, schools and shops
- National Health Commission warns against simplistic attempts to expand inoculation
Some say such hardline measures will persuade hesitant people to sign up for the shots, but more have argued that it is discriminatory and amounts to mismanagement by local governments.
Public health experts have said such restrictions should be imposed with caution, or they could reduce public confidence in pandemic control measures.
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China’s Covid-19 vaccination drive hits 1 billion mark
On Friday the National Health Commission finally weighed in to assure the public that Covid-19 vaccinations were still “consensual and voluntary”. It said it had noted restrictions in some areas and responded with “timely guidance and supervision”.
The NHC’s statement came after some cities in 10 provinces announced various restrictions on unvaccinated people on entering public places, from hospitals to nursing homes and markets. Some localities have also banned children with unvaccinated parents from going to school, and warned public service workers that their jobs and pay could be at risk if they do not get the jabs.
The city of Wanning in Hainan restricted public transport to vaccinated people in April, but withdrew the bans after the NHC ordered a halt.
China moved past its goal of inoculating 40 per cent of the population by June 30 (although official statistics record doses given, not people fully vaccinated) and on to the next one of at least 70 per cent this year, with targets set for each level of local government to help reach it. As of Friday, more than 1.42 billion doses had been administered nationally.