China's transport capacity sufficient for shipping COVID-19 vaccines: ministry

BEIJING -- China has sufficient refrigerated trucks and cold boxes to meet the transportation needs associated with COVID-19 vaccines, an official said on Friday.

China's domestic COVID-19 vaccines are usually transported in refrigerated trucks and cold boxes at temperatures from 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, Sun Wenjian, a spokesperson with the Ministry of Transport, told a press conference.

According to preliminary surveys, the country has over 10,000 refrigerated trucks and nearly 300,000 cold boxes, which can meet the transportation demands of the process of vaccine production, supply and inoculation, Sun said.

Vehicles transporting COVID-19 vaccines will be exempted from tolls, according to a circular recently released by the ministry.

Toll stations with favorable conditions will set up special passages to give priority to vehicles carrying vaccines, the circular said.