City's success in COVID-19 vaccine rollout

Shanghai, by Thursday, had done over 18 million COVID-19 vaccinations with nearly 6 million people having had two doses. 

The daily record is over 740,000 injections, Wu Jinglei, director of Shanghai Health Commission, said in a radio interview on Friday.

The city currently has 4,365 vaccination spots in 70 large temporary injection sites, 218 residential complexes and 57 mobile units.

“We will further improve the service and efficiency and offer vaccinations at universities, industrial parks and office buildings at temporary sites spots or vaccination vehicles,” Wu said. “We will also launch a reservation service through volunteers and staff at community-based health sites to help elderly people unable to use a smartphone book a vaccination."

He added: “Vaccination is not only protection for every individual but also protection for the entire group. Only when a certain percentage of people receive the vaccination, can the entire population generate immunity against the virus and protect people who can’t have a vaccination for health reasons and those who fail to generate immunity after vaccination. 

“A long-term and high-level group immunity can prevent the disease spreading and help terminate the disease eventually. We encourage every eligible person to receive a COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible.”

Though the coronavirus pandemic has waned in China, Shanghai still faces a strong load of imported cases. By Wednesday, Shanghai had received nearly 2,000 imported cases but no deaths were reported.

Nucleic acid testing is important for case identification. Currently, there are 146 testing facilities that are able to check 770,000 samples a day. 

In addition to designated hospitals, another 22 hospitals have 8,000 beds for emergency use. A 3,000-member team for urgent public health incidents are on permanent standby, Wu said.