Domestic vaccination drive should pick up: China Daily editorial

How soon will a country win the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic and get its economic activities and social life back to normal depends on how many of its people it can vaccinate to build a firewall against the novel coronavirus.

China has set a target of vaccinating at least 70 percent of its population by the end of this year, and by Tuesday more than 80.4 million doses of vaccines had been administered across the country, according to the latest figures released by the State Council's COVID-19 response inter-agency task force. Those who have been vaccinated are mostly from key sectors such as medicine and health, traffic and education, and at key workplaces such as supermarkets and large-sized enterprises.

Given that the momentum of the inoculation drive is picking up speed — official data show that an average of 2.6 million doses were administered a day between Sunday and Tuesday, up from 1.7 million doses just days before — there is every reason to believe that China is well on its way to achieving that target and realizing so-called herd immunity.

All this has been made possible with the country's markedly enhanced ability to roll out the COVID-19 vaccines. Daily output has now reached around 5 million doses, more than triple the 1.5 million-dose production figure on Feb 1. This, in addition to plans to extend inoculation to cover people over the age of 60, underscores the country's increasing ability to tackle emergencies with its systemic advantages.

Yet there is no denying the fact that some people are still hesitant to apply to take their first jabs either owing to mistrust over domestically manufactured vaccines or their lack of awareness about the urgency and necessity of mass vaccination. News from overseas about possible side effects such as blood clots has further added to some people's worries about the vaccines.

Thus it is imperative for government officials at all levels to work harder in their publicity efforts, so as to drive home the awareness among the public that vaccines are safe, efficient and save lives. This has been proved by the fact that more than 100 million Chinese-made vaccines have been administered at home and abroad, with no severe adverse effects having been reported.

As the world is slowly opening up again, the advantages of getting vaccinated will become more obvious in the form of eased travel restrictions and more people flows which will promote economic recoveries. Every citizen who can should get inoculated to contribute his or her part in the united fight against the pandemic. After all, no one is safe until all are safe.