China's health authorities to step up Covid-19 vaccination for seniors

They blame protests on arbitrary local enforcement of pandemic rules

- Tan Dawn Wei China Bureau Chief

BEIJING China's health authorities say they will ramp up vaccinating the elderly against the coronavirus, even as they blame the recent wave of discontent across the country on overzealous local enforcers of Covid-19 rules.

The National Health Commission will form a working group to direct efforts to inoculate those over the age of 60, including using big data to home in on them, and pushing jabs in nursing homes and activity centres for seniors.

Those who refuse to take the shot will be asked for an explanation, the top health body outlined in a work plan on Tuesday.

China has been held back from reopening because of the low vaccination rate among the elderly, the most vulnerable segment of the population.

While more than 90 per cent of its population of 1.4 billion are fully vaccinated, only 65.8 per cent of people over the age of 80 have completed the full course of jabs, and just 40 per cent have taken booster shots.

Of those aged 60 and over, 86 per cent are fully vaccinated, health officials said at a news conference on Tuesday.