Mainland China announced significant progress on Tuesday in getting Covid-19 booster shots to people “over 80”.
As of Monday, 65.8% of that age group had received booster shots, an official told reporters.
That’s up from 40% as of November. 11, as per prior disclosures.
China also announced a new campaign to further vaccinate its elderly population against Covid-19.
An official said in a press conference that vaccination is still effective in preventing severe disease and death, and that the elderly are among the biggest beneficiaries.
The document did not provide specific details on how the authorities could vaccinate more people.
Analysts said vaccinating a larger proportion of the population would help put China on the path to reopening. Only vaccines made in China are available domestically so far.
The Covid vaccination rate for the elderly in China is generally lower than in the United States and Singapore.
Tuesday’s announcement and press conference followed a weekend of turmoil as pockets of people in cities across China vented frustration with Covid politics. Local officials have tightened measures in some areas, in contrast to signals from Beijing earlier in the month that indicated China was on its way to reopening.
Weekend demonstrations weighed on market sentiment in Asia on Monday. There were no signs of subsequent protests amid tight security.
Recent Covid controls in mainland China negatively affected 25.1% of the national GDP as of Monday, according to Nomura’s model. This is higher than the previous peak of 21.2% recorded in April during the lockdown in Shanghai.
When asked in English whether China was reconsidering its Covid policy after the protests, one official simply said they were monitoring the evolution of the virus, without elaborating.
On Monday, the country recorded its first drop in daily domestic infections in more than a week.