China says it aims to vaccinate 40% of population by June

China plans to vaccinate 40% of its 1.4 billion people against Covid-19 by the end of June, the country’s top health expert said.

The ambitious target to inoculate 560 million people means the world’s most populous country will have to pick up its pace, as only 3.5% have been vaccinated so far. As of Feb. 28, 52.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered, according to Zhong Nanshan, a senior medical adviser to the Chinese government.

China’s success in controlling the outbreak allowed it to take a leisurely approach to vaccination, with few people falling sick even as the number infected in the U.S. and Europe soared. Because the virus is still circulating in many areas, the vicious cycle of illness and death will continue until the majority of the world's population is protected against it via vaccination or infection.


“The current vaccination pace is very low today due to the outbreak control in the early stages,” said Zhang Wenhong, director of infectious diseases at Shanghai Huashan Hospital and a government adviser on Covid response, during a video conference on Monday.