Immunization drive 'needs more funding'

The government should pay more attention to disease prevention and increase funding for better implementation of the national immunization program, a senior health official said yesterday.

Wang Yu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made the remarks at a meeting on the nation's immunization program.

China's 30-year-old immunization drive, allegedly the world's most extensive, now has 14 vaccines covering 15 infectious diseases that range from tuberculosis, Hepatitis B, to epidemic encephalitis B.