Anyone 18 or older who have received two-dose Chinese
vaccines and belong to at-risk groups, including those participating,
organizing or working on games facilities, would be eligible for the additional
shot, state media reported Friday.
The booster has been rolling out in cities across the vast
nation since late September, but Beijing authorities have been extra cautious
in who receives the extra jab.
The games are set to begin on Feb. 4 with only residents of
China allowed in the stands. Indoor events with sliding, skiing and jumping
will be held in the suburb of Yanqing and the neighboring city of Zhangjiakou.
China has been largely successful in preventing local
transmission through strict requirements on mask wearing, quarantining and
contact tracing. Cases continue to pop up however, with 28 new ones reported
Friday, including one in the Beijing suburb of Fengtai.
The pandemic is believed to have originated in the central
Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, leading to a total lockdown that affected
more than 50 million people.
China has been accused of covering up the initial outbreak
and stymying investigations into the coronavirus’ origins, although it said
earlier this week that it would cooperate with a renewed investigation by the
World Health Organization while “firmly opposing any forms of political
manipulation.”
WHO on Wednesday released a proposed list of 25 experts to
advise it on next steps in the search for the virus’ origins after its earlier
efforts were attacked for going easy on China. -AP
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