The Chinese mainland had administrated 52.52 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines as of the end of February, inoculating about 3.56% of its population, Chinese top respiratory expert Zhong Nanshan said, adding that China plans to administer 40 doses per 100 people against Covid-19 by June. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 75,236,003 doses have been administrated in the U.S. as of February 28. China is ramping up efforts to vaccinate 560 million people, or 40% of China’s population, by the end of June, and another 330 million people will be vaccinated by the end of the year, covering 64% of the total population, according to China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The accelerated vaccination campaign is aimed at catching up with the countries leading in vaccination rates as fast as possible to avoid an “immunization gap”. During a national planning session of the Chinese CDC last week, authorities clarified the vaccination goals for each province and assigned tasks to each region.

Several Chinese lawmakers and political advisors have proposed the issuance of digital vaccine travel certificates or “vaccine passports” to help people get life back to normal. “China could encourage the public to voluntarily get vaccinated and gradually issue a new passport for those who have been vaccinated,” Zhu Zhengfu, a prominent Chinese lawyer and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), told the Global Times. Business and travel visas could be issued to people with vaccine passports if they want to go to countries and regions where the Covid-19 epidemic has been effectively curbed, Zhu said. He also suggested that international arrivals could be exempted from the requirement of 14-day quarantine if they have a negative nucleic acid test report and the vaccine passport, while people in China would be allowed to travel freely within the country if they have a vaccine passport. Zhu also suggested the country promote  mutual recognition of vaccine passports in the world to boost international tourism and economic exchanges.  Iceland recently became the first country in Europe to issue and recognize Covid-19 vaccination certificates which it hopes will allow vaccinated individuals to travel freely within its borders and abroad. The governments of Denmark and Sweden have also announced they will develop a vaccine passport to be launched before June. But Pan Helin, Executive Director of the Digital Economy Research Institute at the Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, told the Global Times that a vaccine passport is not feasible scientifically because it is hard for countries to reach common ground over the efficacy of different vaccines in a short time.

As countries around the world ramp up efforts to vaccinate hundreds of millions of people, Chinese companies that have been making test kits for Covid-19 are shifting focus to a new product expected to be in hot demand worldwide: antibody test kits to evaluate the efficacy of vaccines. Neutralizing antibody detection kits are used to evaluate the immune reaction to the vaccine, but they are not used in the traditional antibody detection process. The former tests are used to detect antibodies produced after a vaccination, while the latter versions are used to detect IgM and IgG antibodies produced spontaneously after an infection. Chinese leading producer of test kits Maccura Biotechnology Co told the Global Times that the kit is still being used for scientific research and has yet to be launched. “The product, after it is launched, will target those who have been vaccinated in a bid to understand the level of antibodies generated in their bodies, and whether they need to be vaccinated again,” said a source with the company. Those who have recovered from an infection can also take the test. In addition to Maccura Biotechnology Co, other companies such as Guangzhou-based test kit maker Wondfo Biotech Co, are pinning their hopes on antibody tests, which can be done by an individual rather than by professional medical organizations. Shanghai Geneodx, a subsidiary of Sinopharm, and Mindray announced that they have jointly developed a new test kit  for evaluating the effectiveness of vaccines.

Chinese mask suppliers are taking the lead in promoting eco-friendly products in response to rising concerns over environmental pollution caused by mountains of used masks and other types of personal protective equipment (PPE). The international environmental protection organization OceanAsia in December said in a report that some 1.56 billion face masks entered the marine environment in 2020. Some Chinese suppliers, such as Health Box of Anhui province, now offer biodegradable masks. “Unlike the usual masks made of non-woven or melt-blown cloth, the new masks are made of polylactide, which is often sourced from cornstarch and straw, and therefore is more eco-friendly,” said Huang Yuhao, President of the company. These masks cost twice as much to produce as traditional ones, and prices are likely to stabilize as a result of mass production. 

This overview is based on reporting by the China Daily, Shanghai Daily and Global Times.