China Approaches One Billion COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Administered

In a matter of days, China will reach one billion doses in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, a pace unmatched by any other country in the world. As of Wednesday, China has administered over 945 million doses, three times the number delivered in the United States and about 40% of the 2.5 billion doses given globally, according to CNN. This figure is remarkable considering the initial rollout was slow. China only reached its first million doses on March 27, two weeks behind the United States. However, the pace significantly accelerated in May, with over 500 million doses administered last month, according to data from the Chinese National Health Commission. On Tuesday alone, the country provided more than 20 million doses. At this rate, it is likely to surpass one billion doses by the end of this week. Vaccinating a country with a population of 1.4 billion against COVID-19 is a massive undertaking. The "Vaccinate Everyone Who Can Be Vaccinated" campaign is being carried out across the country, in both major cities and small villages, where government employees go into neighborhoods to encourage people to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, heads of state-owned enterprises have urged their employees to take the vaccine, while vaccination sites offer various incentives, ranging from shopping vouchers to free ice cream and groceries.