China says 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered

April 21 (UPI) — China has administered more than 200 million doses of domestically developed COVID-19 vaccines and remains guarded against “imported” cases, according to local health authorities.

Mi Feng, spokesman for China’s National Health Commission, said Wednesday at a press conference that the country has surpassed the 200 million mark for vaccine doses.

The official did not disclose the percentage of half-vaccinated versus fully vaccinated recipients, or the number of people who have received the vaccine. China has said it plans to vaccinate 560 million out of 1.4 billion people by middle of June.

Mi said COVID-19 cases have increased for eight consecutive weeks around the world and that globally 5.26 million cases were reported last week, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.

“It is necessary to increase the speed of vaccination while strengthening the block of foreign inflows,” Mi said.

Chinese vaccines Sinovac and Sinopharm require at least two doses to be effective.

According to Mi, the government plans to “ensure” that the Chinese population receives their second dose within eight weeks after their first dose, the report said.

Mi’s remarks come a day after Zheng Zhongwei, head of China’s COVID-19 vaccine development projects, said Wednesday at the Boao Forum for Asia conference that China could produce more than 3 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses in 2021. China plans to distribute more vaccines globally, Zheng said, according to Xinhua.

Rollouts of Chinese vaccines around the world have been met with mixed results.

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday more than 7.6 million people in Chile have received at least one dose of the Sinovac vaccine, but some recipients have fallen ill.

Rodrigo Jordán, 61, was hospitalized near Santiago for nine days and required supplemental oxygen, the report said.

“With one dose, we know the protection is very weak,” said Claudia Cortés, an internal medicine and infectious diseases specialist at Santa Maria Clinic in Santiago.

Chinese health authorities have suggested adding a third dose, according to the report.