Hunan Province to Expand Target Population for COVID-19 Vaccination

The Hunan Health Commission reported COVID-19 vaccination situation across the province, and the plan to expand the target population for COVID-19 vaccination, at a press conference in Changsha on March 19. Free COVID-19 vaccination will cover all people above 18 years old in Hunan Province. 

Since last March, there had been no local COVID-19 cases reported in Hunan for one year and 19 days. All of the 21 imported cases were detected and quarantined immediately to avoid virus spread. There are currently 4 imported cases hospitalized. 

Hunan will give top priority to vaccination in the anti-epidemic fight. Last December, Hunan started to vaccinate high-risk groups, according to the deployment of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council. There are 1,322 COVID-19 vaccination sites around the province. Expert teams on vaccination, medical treatment, and abnormal reaction diagnosis were organized. 

As of March 18, more than 2.15 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Hunan, and over 880,000 people had been administered two doses of the vaccine. All abnormal reactions were treated timely and properly. 

Next, Hunan will promote vaccination for people aged over 18 years old in three phases to increase vaccination rates. 

The first phase is currently ongoing, targeting key groups of about 27 million people. These include workers at higher risk of infection, essential personnel, people working in border regions and labor-intensive industries, seniors who are in good condition and need to be vaccinated for special reasons, and other designated personnel.   

The second phase will focus on people who are more likely to develop severe infections, including the elderly and those with chronic diseases. This phase will last until the end of this year, covering about 16 million people. 

The third and final phase will cover those in remaining population who are willing to be inoculated. The total number is about 10 million. 

“We will provide free vaccines for all people working, studying, and living in Hunan, no matter where the household registration location is,” said Li Junhua, deputy director of the Hunan Health Commission. 

According to the national deployment, the vaccine and vaccination fees will be covered by the medical insurance foundation. “People, whether included in the national medical insurance or not, need not to pay for vaccination”, said Wu Guoyong, deputy director of the Hunan Healthcare Security Administration. 

Source: enghunan.gov.cn