Employees work to make masks at a factory in Lianyungang, East China’s Jiangsu Province, on March 20, 2022. Photo:cnsphoto

The production capacity for key medical supplies such as antigen detection reagents, vaccines and masks is sufficient in China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) told a press conference on Wednesday.

Zhou Jian, an official from the MIIT said that since the optimization of COVID-19 measures, the ministry has strengthened the production and scheduling of key medical supplies such as antigen detection reagents, vaccines and protective equipment.

He noted that there had been a temporary shortage of antigen detection reagents in some places, mainly due to low market demand and low stock. However, with increased production capacity, the output can be rapidly increased to meet the need.

According to the MIIT, the nation's drug administration has so far approved 42 antigen detection reagent products. Meanwhile efforts will be taken to solve problems in the purchasing and reserve of auxiliary materials, to ensure the smooth functioning of the supply chain.

The ministry also noted that China has established the world's largest production capacity of COVID-19 vaccines with more than 5.5 billion doses being produced annually, which can fully meet the needs of the current epidemic prevention and control.

As for masks and other protective equipment, the MIIT said that China has a solid industrial foundation for producing masks and has been expanding mask production capacity since the outbreak of COVID-19.

Responding to the surging demand for N95 masks, Zhou said that China has strengthened the production of the masks to meet prevention and control needs.

Key companies involved in mask manufacturing also pledged to accelerate production at full speed.

Dawn Group, a leading melt-spray material supplier in China, said on Wednesday that the company is currently in full production and will actively supply melt-spray material for making masks.

Global Times