Jun 21, 2021 - World
China crosses 1 billion vaccinations, with 500 million in one month
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China has now administered 1 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines — 500 million of them in just the past month. That's half of the global total during that period.
The big picture: China's vaccine rollout started slowly, due in part to a low sense of urgency and also to the fact that the government was focusing on exporting doses.
- Demand for vaccines grew after the Delta variant, first discovered in India, began spreading in Guangzhou. Authorities have also been offering food or other inducements to encourage vaccination, per the NYT.
- The Chinese-made vaccines being distributed appear to be less effective than the alternatives offered in the U.S. and EU, but still provide protection against severe disease.
China's current pace of 20 million vaccinations per day is far higher than the peak of around 3 million per day in the U.S., even adjusted for population.
- The government aims to have 40% of the population fully vaccinated by the end of the month.
