Photo:Xinhua

 
It is hoped that China will reach 70 percent to 80 percent coverage of inoculation with the the COVID-19 vaccine, basically achieving herd immunity by the beginning of 2022, or even by the end of 2021, said China's CDC director. 

Based on the basic transmission index for the novel coronavirus, achieving herd immunity might require the vaccination rate of the population to be 70 to 80 percent, said Gao Fu, the director of the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in an interview with CCTV on Sunday. 

He noted that the vaccination rate required to achieve herd immunity depends on the nature of the virus. 

"The vaccination process is complex and comprehensive, and everyone is working hard on it. I hope to say 'early next year' is a miscalculation. Hopefully we can achieve it by the end of this year,” he said. 

China had administered 75 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Saturday, the National Health Commission said on Sunday. 

Officials noted that the country’s annual production can fully meet the inoculation needs of the entire country. 

China will gradually promote vaccination across the country and expand the inoculation coverage of the population, including for seniors and minors. Some regions in China, such as Beijing and Hefei in East China's Anhui Province, have already started to vaccinate people over 60 years of age who are in good physical condition.

Chinese authorities have reportedly laid out plans to ramp up efforts to vaccinate 560 million people, or 40 percent of China's population, by the end of June, and another 330 million people by the end of the year, covering 64 percent of the total population.

Global Times