Vaccine rollout in China

[jdc]

Not going as well as expected: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/ ... cine-slow/

seven weeks into China’s campaign, the picture is surprisingly underwhelming. The more than 31.2 million doses administered since its official start date of Dec. 15 put it second only to the U.S., with its nearly 35 million shots. Yet for a population of 1.4 billion, China has delivered a little more than two doses for every 100 people, compared to three in the European Union, 10 in the U.S. and nearly 60 in Israel, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker.

The effort is also appearing to fall short of an internal target of vaccinating 50 million people by the Chinese New Year holiday that starts Feb. 11

China’s lack of momentum isn’t being caused by the distribution hiccups or production shortfalls seen in places like Europe, with vaccines being rolled out at more than 25,000 sites, including re-purposed stadiums, museums and community centers. It’s also been giving out some shots under emergency authorization since mid-2020 ...

Instead, the slowness appears to be due to widespread hesitation across the Chinese population, for reasons ranging from concern over the safety and level of protection promised by the local vaccines, to a lack of urgency, with COVID-19 largely confined to winter flareups in parts of the north ...

China’s vaccine developers have been criticized for their lack of transparency on the safety and effectiveness of their shots, releasing less data than their western counterparts. That’s fueled skepticism in countries like Pakistan and Indonesia that have vaccine deals with China. As in other countries, medical workers in China are also concerned about being guinea pigs for the first vaccines.

Sophia Qu, a doctor at a hospital in Guangdong province, southern China, didn’t take up the vaccine offer because she’s worried about negative side effects. Fewer than half her colleagues got vaccinated, she said.

Some in China would also rather wait for a foreign-made vaccine, given past scandals over shoddy Chinese-made shots.