Covid-19: China set to vaccinate children as young as 3 years old

China has announced that children as young as 3 will start receiving covid-19 vaccines in the country. Local city and provincial level governments in at least five Chinese provinces have announced that children ages 3 to 11 will be required to get their vaccinations.

China becomes one of the very few countries in the world to start vaccinating children that young against the virus. Cuba began a vaccine drive for children as young as 2. The US and many European countries allow COVID-19 shots down to age 12, as the US is tilting towards opening vaccinations to 5- to 11-year-olds.

China’s covid-19 vaccine
photo credit:
Marco Verch
https://foto.wuestenigel.com/china-help-world-fight-coronavirus-with-new-vaccine/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

China has fully vaccinated 1.07 billion people out of a population of 1.4 billion which is about 76% of it’s population fully vaccinated and Chinese authorities are maintaining a zero-tolerance policy toward outbreaks.

China has employed lockdowns, quarantines and compulsory testing for the virus throughout the pandemic and has largely stamped out cases of local infection.

In particular, the government is concerned about the spread of the more contagious delta variant by travelers and about having a largely vaccinated public ahead of the Beijing Olympics in February. Overseas spectators already have been banned from the Winter Games and participants will have to stay in a bubble separating them from people outside.

Dolupo Balogun

Written by BoomRadioNG