China has reported that President Xi Jinping and other prominent politicians have received Covid vaccines made domestically. The announcement was made as part of a campaign to boost vaccination rates, particularly for booster shots. Zeng Yixin, the deputy head of China's National Health Commission, claimed that it demonstrated the leadership's faith in domestic vaccines.
These individuals typically do not disclose health information to the public. The nation's leaders, according to Mr. Zeng, "all received the locally produced Covid-19 vaccination shots."
"This has fully demonstrated that they attach great importance to the epidemic prevention and control work and highly trust the domestic Covid-19 vaccines," he continued. The vaccination rate is too low for the nation to safely reopen, so officials are working to raise it.
China is still pursuing its "zero Covid" policy, which involves widespread testing, stringent isolation guidelines, and local lockdowns.
Even though there have been significantly fewer fatalities than in many other nations, this strategy is coming under increasing pressure from opponents as people and businesses continue to feel the effects of the restrictions.
There is no alternative to zero Covid, according to President Xi. According to Johns Hopkins University, China has experienced 2,167,619 cases and 14,647 fatalities since the pandemic started.
In contrast, the UK experienced 181,398 fatalities and 23,088,074 cases. In response to a Covid outbreak in April, Shanghai was under lockdown for more than two months.
Low vaccination rates were a source of concern during the outbreak. Only 15% of people over 80 received two doses, according to officials, while only 38% of people over 60 received a booster.
According to recent statistics, 90% of the population nationwide has now received two vaccinations.