Accelerating into Immunization Agenda 2030 with momentum from China’s successful COVID-19 vaccination campaign during dynamic COVID Zero

Abstract

China's immunization programs conducted a unified, tightly coordinated COVID-19 vaccination campaign during the dynamic COVID Zero period that reached well over 90% of the population with vaccines having > 90% effectiveness against serious-to-fatal COVID-19. The campaign was eight times the size of the annual routine national immunization program, administering 3.4 billion doses of vaccines while monitoring vaccine coverage, acceptability, safety, and effectiveness. Every asset of the routine immunization program had to be strengthened and expanded to attain high coverage and reach hundreds of millions of adults who had not been vaccinated since childhood. Program strengthening and expansion were in directions aligned with the World Health Organization's Immunization Agenda 2030, which has a vision that "everyone, everywhere, at every age fully benefits from vaccines for good health and well-being" and requires reaching all children, adolescents, and adults with lifesaving vaccines. Momentum from this campaign should not be lost but should be invested into achieving what is possible with a properly resourced national immunization program that is now proven to be capable of reaching everyone in the world’s largest country throughout the life course, and to do so with all vaccines recommended by the World Health Organization. Graphical Abstract

Advancing the National Immunization Program in an era of achieving universal vaccine coverage in China and beyond

“…The three commentaries address pivotal aspects of vaccination efforts in China, encompassing the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, HPV vaccination initiatives, and the adoption of higher-valent paediatric combination vaccines. Dr. Lance Rodewald highlights China’s swift mobilization of resources to achieve widespread COVID-19 vaccine coverage, advocating for the application of this infrastructure and experience to sustain high immunization rates as per IA2030 objectives, across all age groups for all WHO-recommended vaccines [ 7 ]. Prof. Fanghui Zhao and colleagues discuss the advances and challenges in China’s approach to HPV vaccination as a measure against cervical cancer, acknowledging significant progress but also calling attention to the need for stable vaccine supply, fair pricing, and a focus on marginalized populations to ensure equitable vaccine access [ 8 ].…”

SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Hospitalization, and Associated Factors Among People Living With HIV in Southeastern China From December 2022 to February 2023: Cross-Sectional Survey

“…Due to a unified, tightly coordinated COVID-19 vaccination campaign during the dynamic COVID-19 Zero period, partial and full vaccination coverage in China reached 91.5% and 89.3%, respectively [ 10 , 11 ]. In the context of this high vaccination coverage and the relatively weak virulence of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, the Chinese government relaxed COVID-19 prevention and control measures in December 2022.…”