BEIJING (Reuters) – China will provide COVID-19 vaccines free of charge as soon as they are available to the general public, government officials said on Saturday.
Zheng Zhongwei, official of the National Health Commission, said that although the manufacture and transportation of vaccines comes at a cost, the government can provide free vaccines to individuals.
“Our people do not have to pay a single cent for the vaccine,” Zheng said at a press event in Beijing.
China approved its first general-purpose vaccine at the end of December. Three vaccines have already been given to limited groups at high risk of infection, including medical workers, through an emergency use program.
The country expanded the vaccination scheme in mid-December to include more key groups such as workers in the food and public transport sector, in an effort to halt a revival in winter and spring.
The vaccinations are also free for individuals, said Zeng Yixin, an official of the National Health Commission.
“We found that some local governments charged individual fees, we … demanded immediate redress,” Zeng said at the briefing.
China has administered more than 9 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, Zeng said. Of these, more than 7 million have been administered since mid-December.
Nearly 140,000 people in Hebei Province have taken the dose of COVID-19 vaccines, says Cui Gang, an official of the National Health Commission, which is part of China’s vaccination scheme targeting specific groups at high risk of infection.
The province’s capital, Shijiazhuang, has emerged as a new incubator for transportation. Local authorities have suspended public transport across the city in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.
“At the moment, Hebei Province needs to accelerate progress and vaccinate key groups as soon as possible,” Cui said.
Reporting by Yew Lun Tian, Roxanne Liu and Martin Pollard in Beijing; Written by Josh Horwitz; Edited by Lincoln Feast and Richard Pullin