CHINA VACINATES 200MN CITIZENS; CANADIAN PM KEEN TO RECEIVE ASTRAZENECA JAB
BEIJING: Around 200 million Chinese, or 14.29% of the population, have been vaccinated for Covid-19 so far, with an emphasis on front-line workers, university students and people living in border areas, a health official said Wednesday.
China is ramping up vaccination efforts after a slow start, prompted in part by the virtual elimination of domestic transmission. Just two local cases were reported on Wednesday, both in the city of Ruili, which borders on Myanmar.
China is now giving millions of shots a day and a top government doctor, Zhong Nanshan, has announced a goal of vaccinating 560 million of the country’s 1.4 billion people by midJune.
Trudeau wants to take disputed vaccine
Justin Trudeau said he would prefer taking AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine after Ontario province, where the capital city of Ottawa is located, threw open its vaccination drive against the disease, making the 49-year-old Canadian prime minister eligible for the jab. Ontario’s administration announced on Tuesday that those aged 40 to 54 can register for vaccination.
Trudeau insisted on getting the AZ vaccine “to convey the message to all Canadians that they should be vaccinated with the first one that is offered to them as quickly as possible,” CBC News reported.