Speakers:
Li Bin, deputy director of the National Health Commission (NHC)
Tian Yulong, member of the Leading Party Members Group of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and MIIT chief engineer
Chang Jile, director of the Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control of the NHC
Yuan Lin, director general of the Department of Drug Regulation of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA)
Wang Junzhi, deputy head of an expert task force on vaccine development and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering
Wang Huaqing, chief expert of the National Immunization Program of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Chairperson:
Shou Xiaoli, deputy head of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and SCIO spokesperson
Date:
March 15, 2021
Shou Xiaoli:
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the State Council's interagency task force press conference. Currently, China has been promoting COVID-19 vaccination in an orderly manner, and people are very concerned about the progress. To help people better understand the situation, today we have invited Li Bin, deputy director of the National Health Commission (NHC) to brief you on promoting COVID-19 vaccination and answer questions of interest. We also have with us Tian Yulong, member of the Leading Party Members Group of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and MIIT chief engineer; Chang Jile, director of the Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control of the NHC; Yuan Lin, director general of the Department of Drug Regulation of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA); Wang Junzhi, deputy head of an expert task force on vaccine development and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; and Wang Huaqing, chief expert of the National Immunization Program of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Next, I will give the floor to Mr. Li.
Li Bin:
Good afternoon, friends from the media! It is a great pleasure to meet with you here to introduce the progress of COVID-19 vaccination work in China. At present, in accordance with the decision and deployment of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council, all localities are promoting vaccinations in a safer, more orderly and vigorous manner by distinguishing priorities, insisting on informed consent for voluntary and free vaccinations, integrating regular prevention and control with vaccination work, and undertaking due responsibility and industry supervision responsibilities in a prudent and orderly manner in accordance with the law. China has administered 64.98 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of March 14. At present, we are organizing the implementation of vaccination following a sequence of administering vaccines to key groups, high-risk groups and then the general public, and steadily increasing the vaccine coverage rate.
The first step is to vaccinate key groups. These groups include people facing a higher risk of occupational exposure, people at risk from overseas infections and people in key positions that maintain the basic operation of society, as well as people over 18 years old who live in border counties. We also include people who work in industries with higher risks of virus transmission such as the service industry and labor-intensive industry, some senior citizens who basically maintain good health but need to be vaccinated for special reasons, and other key groups decided by industrial authorities. At present, the vaccination of key groups is progressing in an orderly manner.
The second step is to vaccinate high-risk groups, which mainly include elderly people and people with underlying diseases. As data on the protective efficacy of the vaccine in these groups from clinical trials is not yet sufficient, vaccination of these groups will be arranged according to the progress of vaccine development. The mass vaccination of these groups will be carried out in a timely manner once sufficient data on vaccine safety and efficacy are available from clinical trials.
The third step is to widen the inoculation to the general public. In this stage, we will administer COVID-19 shots to the rest of the public who are willing to get vaccinated except for the above-mentioned two groups. Our ultimate goal is to effectively protect the health of all people.
