Commentary: China's vaccination efforts deserve kudos

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Mobile vaccination vehicles, songs encouraging inoculation and coupons for vaccinated shoppers... with various types of support and incentives, China is conducting a massive vaccine rollout for its 1.4 billion people.

Such stepped-up inoculation drive, coupled with China's vaccine support to other countries, is bringing the world a step closer to the final victory against COVID-19.

The challenge of realizing herd immunity for the world's most populous country is obvious, as it can only occur when the vaccination rate reaches around 70 to 80 percent among the whole population.

As of Wednesday, more than 449.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered across the Chinese mainland. The pace of vaccination is accelerating.

China has clearly stated that people's life and health should be the top priority in the fight against the virus. The country encourages voluntary vaccination and has been making efforts to ensure that everyone eligible for vaccination has full access to it.

In addition, China has been making contributions to the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in other developing countries, despite its own huge population and supply shortage at home.

It has provided vaccine assistance to over 80 countries and three international organizations, and has exported vaccines to over 50 nations. Recently, the Sinopharm vaccine has been listed for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO). China has also announced offer of vaccines to UN peacekeeping missions and the International Olympic Committee.

All the moves are in line with the idea that COVID-19 vaccines should be a "global public good," a solemn commitment made by the Chinese leadership from the very beginning.

As a developing country and a responsible member of the international community, China has promised to do all things that are conducive to developing nations' fight against the virus and support all actions that can help them acquire vaccines in an equitable way.

According to WHO statistics, variations in the novel coronavirus are increasingly frequent, adding more uncertainty to the battle against the virus. Human society must ensure that the speed of COVID-19 vaccination is faster than the pace of mutation.

China's contributions are crucial to the race and its efforts deserve kudos.