Roundup: Vaccination top strategy of China's current COVID-19 response: officials

A resident is inoculated at a vaccination site at Yongdinglu Sub-district of Haidian District in Beijing, China, March 14, 2021. (Xinhua/Ren Chao)

BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 65 million COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered across China by Sunday, Li Bin, deputy head of the National Health Commission, told a press conference in Beijing on Monday.

"China has endeavored to steadily increase its vaccinated population," said Li, noting that a total of 15 supervisory groups had been dispatched to provide guidance across the country.

The best way to prevent COVID-19 cases is vaccination, and it is China's current top COVID-19 prevention and control strategy, said Li.

Noting an overall stable COVID-19 situation in China, Li pointed out the potential risks of imported cases and cluster cases in some localities, and called on more people to get vaccinated.

Related systems have been established to coordinate the vaccine supply across the country, as well as a nationwide tracking platform to strictly implement the control measures for the whole vaccine process, according to Li.

Right now, China's vaccine manufacturers are constantly expanding, their production capacity is being continuously released and their output will gradually increase, said Tian Yulong, chief engineer at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

"We have established a flexible mechanism to ensure a balance between the supply and demand of the vaccines," said Tian.

Staff members supervise the operation of an automated packing line for inactivated COVID-19 vaccine at Sinovac Life Sciences Co., Ltd. in Beijing, capital of China, on Jan. 6, 2021.(Xinhua/Lu Ye)

The current supply of materials for vaccine production is also orderly, stable and sufficient, and can meet the needs of large-scale vaccine production at present and for some time to come, he said.

While ensuring domestic needs are met, China will continue to export COVID-19 vaccines and provide vaccine aid to other countries, Tian noted.

China has provided vaccine aid to more than 50 countries and exported vaccines to 27 nations, data from the Foreign Ministry showed at the end of February.

"I believe that China's high-quality and safe vaccines will be welcomed by more countries, and we are willing to make more efforts in this regard," Tian added.

Senior Congolese officials pose for a photo with Chinese Ambassador to the Republic of Congo Ma Fulin at the airport in Brazzaville on March 10, 2021. (Xinhua)

China has taken a series of effective measures to ensure the quality and safety of the COVID-19 vaccines, said Yuan Lin, an official with the National Medical Products Administration.

A relatively comprehensive supervision system, a complete legal system, and a system of quality standards for vaccines have been established, said Yuan.

Each vaccine batch on the market is examined and approved by a state-accredited agency, he said.

"We are also stepping up efforts to continuously improve the quality and efficiency of vaccine examination to match our vaccine production capacity," he added.