China mandates vaccines for school children and their families

Joining a list of countries like France and Greece, that have made COVID-19 vaccination mandatory in some sectors, China has also made it mandatory for school-going children.

A few local governments in China have stated that students cannot return to school in September unless their whole family has been fully vaccinated against coronavirus.

In several cities, vaccines are required to enter public places such as hospitals and supermarkets.

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Earlier this week, a public notice posted in Guangxi province advised that those who are not yet vaccinated must do it soon so that their children's return to school is not affected, specifying that it applies to children of all ages.

Even though the rules are different for different regions, there were similar announcements from governments in Jiangxi and Henan, saying that only pupils whose families were vaccinated could attend the new autumn semester.

Schools in the Hebei province of Pingxiang have announced that they will only allow fully vaccinated students between the ages of 12 and 17, to attend school. Whether this is true for other ages of students is unclear.

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Others like Hancheng in Shaanxi province have said it will not allow unvaccinated people to visit hotels, restaurants or entertainment venues.

While the deadlines differ for different areas, most have set the end of July as the cutoff date for vaccines before the strict measures take effect

These deadlines have been termed as "unfair" by the netizens, with people commenting that even though vaccinations were at first touted as voluntary, they've now turned out to be mandatory. 

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By the end of the year, China intends to inoculate 64 per cent of its population. According to China's top health officials, people should get jabs, but the last decision would rest with the individuals. 

Government officials at lower levels have also been instructed to prioritize vaccination.

Chinese health authorities have not revealed how many people have been fully vaccinated but they claim to have administered more than 1.4 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far.