China has now administered more than 210 million vaccines to protect its citizens against Covid-19, a figure only surpassed by the US, despite state officials talking about a shortage of shots in some regions.
In a daily update published on Friday, the Chinese health authorities announced that 211 million vaccines had been administered across the country as of April 22. The figure is equivalent to around 14 doses per 100 people, although some individuals have already had their second shot.
In terms of the total number of vaccines dispensed, China’s figure is only bettered by the US where 219 million jabs have been administered. This equates to 64 doses per 100 people. Approximately 90 million of the shots given out in the US have been second doses.
Earlier this week, Zheng Zhongwei, director of the Development Center for Medical Science and Technology of the National Health Commission (NHC), admitted China was battling to overcome vaccine shortages in some regions but said domestic supply should increase in the coming months.
“At present, domestic vaccine supply is relatively tight, but from May, especially after June, the vaccine supply situation will ease significantly,” he said. Zheng told the Global Times that China hopes to produce 3 billion Covid-19 shots this year and increase production capacity to 5 billion.
The Global Times reported vaccine shortages in Hainan Province, Guangdong Province and Shaanxi Province earlier in April, with a number of health authorities delaying administering second jabs or closing inoculation facilities completely. The state-run news agency said China intends to vaccinate about 560 million people by the end of June.
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