Beijing ‘sets ambitious goals’ for jab rate among elderly
Beijing has set ambitious targets to boost vaccination among the elderly, tackling a major barrier to reopening the country’s borders and reviving the economy, according to sources.
Three regional officials who attended recent policy briefings told the Post that Beijing aimed to ensure more than 90 per cent of those aged 80 and above received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by the end of January. As of 2020, China had more than 36 million people in the age group.
Only 76.6 per cent of those aged 80 and above have received at least one shot, and only 40 per cent have received a booster dose.
China’s top health officials last Tuesday said protecting the vulnerable elderly population through vaccination should be a top priority in the next stage of the fight against Covid-19, but they did not specify jab targets.
However, the sources said a State Council task force overseeing vaccination of the elderly handed down targets to regional governments at a series of meetings in late November.
Beijing also wants 95 per cent of the total population to receive
the first shot – up from 90.2 per cent now – and for eligible people aged 60 to 79 to receive a booster jab. It is unclear how many in the age group have already received a booster shot.
A third major target is for 90 per cent of China’s eligible population to receive a booster jab in the next two months – something only about 57 per cent of the total population has had.
A World Health Organization advisory group has advised that the elderly and other vulnerable groups should receive two booster doses, which for most vaccination courses means a total of four
shots, to protect against Omicron variants.
An official from Guangdong said the State Council’s National Joint Group of Covid-19 Prevention and Control had ordered all provinces to conduct a thorough review of the vaccination status of the elderly and build a database of those suffering from chronic illness.
An official from the province of Guizhou said Beijing was “very committed to this target despite the difficulty” as it had learned from the experience of Hong Kong and other countries that the elderly were the most vulnerable and proper vaccination was the only way to ensure a low death rate while lifting Covid-19 rules.
“These vaccination targets will be the priority for us,” a Gansu provincial health official said, echoing Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan’s remarks last Wednesday, when she said China was “facing a new situation and new tasks as the pathogenicity of the Omicron virus diminishes, vaccination becomes more widespread and experience [grows] in prevention and controls”.
It was the first time a senior official had acknowledged the change in the nature of the virus, hinting that Beijing might adopt a new approach.
The central government plan aims to speed up the vaccination of the elderly with Chinese-made vaccines, including those from pharmaceutical firms Sinopharm, Sinovac and CanSino Biologics.
It also reduced the waiting period for a booster dose from six months to three.
There have been signs that rules will be further relaxed, with several mainland cities rolling back PCR testing – a cornerstone of China’s zero-Covid response – and calling for the use of rapid antigen tests.