BEIJING (Reuters) – China will provide COVID-19 vaccines free of charge once they become available to the general public, government officials said on Saturday.
National Health Commission official Zheng Zhongwei said that although vaccine manufacturing and transportation have costs, the government can provide vaccines free of charge to individuals.
“Our people don’t have to pay a penny for the vaccine,” Zheng told a news conference in Beijing.
China approved its first general purpose vaccine in late December. Three vaccines had already been administered to limited groups at high risk of infection, including medical workers, through an emergency program.
The country extended the inoculation scheme in mid-December to several key groups, such as employees in the food and public transport sectors, in an effort to halt a resurgence in winter and spring.
These vaccinations are also free for individuals, said National Health Commission official Zeng Yixin.
“We found that some local governments charged individual fees, we … demanded immediate rectification,” Zeng told the briefing, adding that local governments have properly implemented the free vaccination policy.
China has administered more than 9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, Zeng said. Of this total, more than 7 million have been administered since mid-December.
Nearly 140,000 people in Hebei Province have received doses of COVID-19 vaccine, said Cui Gang, an official with the National Health Commission, part of China’s vaccination scheme targeting specific groups at high risk of infection.
The provincial capital, Shijiazhuang, has emerged as a new hotbed for transmission. Local authorities have suspended public transport along the city in an effort to stop the spread of the virus.
“Currently, Hebei Province should accelerate progress as soon as possible and complete key vaccination groups as soon as possible,” Cui said.
Reporting by Yew Lun Tian, Roxanne Liu and Martin Pollard in Beijing; Written by Josh Horwitz; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Richard Pullin