Cities deploy mobile vaccination vehicles to speed up inoculation pace

Employees of enterprises stand in line to get vaccinated in front of a vaccination vehicle in Lingang Area, Shanghai, east China, March 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- A bus-like vehicle has since late March provided free COVID-19 vaccination services to employees of enterprises in Lingang Area, a high-end manufacturing park in Shanghai.

The interior of the vehicle has two separate sections, painted orange and pink. Much like a mobile vaccine clinic, the vehicle is equipped with vaccination stations, medical refrigerators and first-aid equipment. The refrigerators are able to store 1,200 vaccine doses.

Once it arrives at a location, medical personnel begin offering a one-stop service for registration, disinfection and vaccination. The vehicle enables busy white-collar workers to receive shots from the comfort of their workplaces, saving time and improving inoculation efficiency.

The onboard 5G communication system can report real-time injection data to local centers for disease control and prevention (CDC).

"This is the first time I have ever seen such a mobile vaccination vehicle. It's so convenient to get vaccinated near the company," a vaccine-taker surnamed Zhang said.

Apart from office workers, the mobile vaccine clinics can reach people such as the elderly, the handicapped and those who do not have access to transportation.

Residents stand in line to get vaccinated in front of a vaccination vehicle in Fengtai District, Beijing, capital of China, April 10, 2021. (Xinhua/Tian Chenxu)

A vaccination vehicle carrying 800 vaccine doses rolled into a spacious street garden in western Beijing on Saturday. Zhou Zhijian, a 96-year-old resident accompanied by his son, arrived at the site in a wheelchair for a shot.

"Vaccination is an obligation of we citizens," Zhou said.

Wang Donghui, who is in charge of the mobile vaccination site, said there were nine communities with 70,000 residents living near the street garden. For some elderly people like Zhou, the vehicle shortens the distance from their home to the vaccination stations.

Vaccination is the most effective means of preventing and controlling COVID-19. The mobile inoculation vehicles, which can vaccinate more than 150 doses in one hour, have ensured that vaccination in the country is both easy and efficient.

"Getting vaccinated in vehicles can reduce the public's concerns over cross-infection and help promote COVID-19 vaccination with high efficiency," said Cheng Hua, a product manager of Chinese automotive firm Foton Motor Group, which has a daily production capacity of 12 such vaccination vehicles.

The company will provide vaccination vehicles for Beijing and neighboring Hebei Province starting this month.

Chinese cities including Wuhan, Chongqing and Wuxi have deployed the vaccination vehicles in campuses, construction sites and commercial areas, to accelerate the country's inoculation pace.

According to the National Health Commission, more than 164 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered across China as of Saturday.

China aims to vaccinate 70 percent to 80 percent of its population between the end of this year and the middle of next year, said Gao Fu, head of the Chinese CDC.