China struggles to meet jab target without enforcement

China has insisted that inoculation against Covid-19 is entirely voluntary, but various measures have suggested that the reality of its massive national vaccination exercise is far more complex.

While the central authorities have called for an end to heavy-handed measures, the country still faces an uphill task in meeting its target of vaccinating 40 per cent of its population, or about 560 million people, by the end of June.

As at Tuesday, more than 175.6 million doses of various coronavirus vaccines have been administered across China, the National Health Commission (NHC) said.

With five vaccines having received emergency-use approvals, China is now confident it has enough for domestic needs as well as to meet overseas sales and donation obligations.

But uptake has been less than enthusiastic. A survey by Peking University, the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and NHC found that only 23 per cent of respondents wanted to get inoculated as quickly as possible once the virus was under control, down from 58 per cent at the height of the outbreak last year.

To meet its targets, China has mobilised its network of neighbourhood committees to knock on doors, encouraging citizens to sign up, while rolling out a series of mobile vaccination clinics.

In a country where policies tend to be enforced strictly across the board - like the lockdowns early in the outbreak last year - giving citizens a choice while setting ambitious targets has left officials somewhat confused.

Some local officials have gone to creative lengths, like offering free eggs or ice cream to those who get the jab, or even going door to door to help the elderly book slots on their mobile phones. Others, like officials in Wanning city, have threatened to stop unvaccinated people from taking public transport.

Organisers of next week's Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan province had insisted attendees must be vaccinated, but later reversed that.

"In our work, we will adhere to the principle that those who want the vaccines will get them, and the spirit of voluntarism (in getting vaccinated)," senior NHC official Wu Liangyou said at a news conference on Sunday.

In a commentary on social media, the Xinwen Lianbo flagship news bulletin of state broadcaster CCTV said that while the "one size fits all" approach might yield faster results, it is crude and reflects insecurity.

"Some people say it is difficult to increase the vaccination rate without turning to a 'one size fits all' approach," Xinwen Lianbo anchor Bao Xiaofeng said in a video posted on Weibo, referring to mandatory vaccination.

"The solution is to increase abilities (at promoting vaccination), and (the authorities) can crowdsource for ideas since sometimes, a good promotional slogan and a compassionate approach can do wonders," she added.

The country is also using social pressure as part of its arsenal. Restaurants where at least 80 per cent of the staff have been vaccinated can put up a sign in their windows stating that, and at least three buildings in the capital's central business district, visited by The Straits Times, required separate registration for those without at least one dose of immunisation.

For many, part of the hesitation stems from a lack of information. None of China's five approved vaccines is on the World Health Organisation's list of emergency-use shots, and vaccine makers in the country have not publicly released detailed data on vaccine efficacy.