BEIJING – Mainland China announced significant progress on Tuesday in giving a boosted Covid-19 vaccine to people “over 80 years old”.
An official told reporters that as of Monday, 65.8% of that age group had received a booster shot.
This is up from 40% as of November 11, as previously revealed.
China also announced a new effort to get more elderly people vaccinated against Covid-19.
An official said at a news conference that vaccinations are still effective in preventing serious illness and death, and the elderly are among the biggest beneficiaries.
The document does not provide specific details about how the authorities will proceed to immunize more people.
Analysts have said that getting a larger proportion of the population vaccinated would help put China on the path to reopening. So far, only Chinese-made vaccines are available in the country.
The rate of Covid vaccination for the elderly in China is generally lower than that of the US and Singapore.
Tuesday’s announcement and press conference to be followed Unstable weekend as many people in cities across China expressed their frustration with the Covid policy. Local officials have tightened measures in some areas, contrasting with signals from Beijing earlier this month that China was on track to reopen.
Weekend rallies weighed on market sentiment in Asia on Monday. There is no sign of further protests amid heightened security.
According to a model by Nomura, mainland China’s latest Covid control measures had negatively affected 25.1% of the national GDP as of Monday. This is higher than the previous peak of 21.2% recorded in April during the blockade in Shanghai.
When asked in English Is China reviewing its Covid policy? After the protests, an official simply said that they were monitoring the development of the virus without further explanation.
The country reported on Monday for the first time reduce daily local infections for more than a week.
