China begins huge Covid vaccine rollout, with doses reportedly already given to 1 million citizens

 

Health officials in China have begun giving at-risk citizens emergency access to vaccine doses, according to a report.  More than a million healthcare workers and others in at-risk groups have already received vaccines, The Associated Press reported Sunday. It detailed millions of orders from the country's provinces. Health officials in world's most populous country, which is home to almost 1.4 billion people, haven't yet released a comprehensive plan.
With limited data released by the Chinese government, the official tally of confirmed coronavirus deaths stood Sunday at 4,746 deaths out of 93,467 cases, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. That compared to 281,186 deaths from 14.6 million cases in the United States, a far less populous country. Chinese government researchers are testing several vaccines from about a dozen countries, with a domestic vaccine from China Pharmaceutical Group, or Sinopharm, nearing final approval, the AP reported, citing an interview the company's vice premier gave to Xinhua News Agency, a quasi-state entity.
"We must be prepared for large-scale production," said Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, per AP.
China's efforts to approve vaccines, even for emergency use, are likely to affect other countries, especially those that have lagged in such research, state media reported Thursday.