100 mn Chinese vaccinated for swine flu

BEIJING - Over 100 million Chinese people have been vaccinated for swine flu, the country’s health minister said Friday.

“We have achieved progress in the fight against A(H1N1) influenza,” Chen Zhu, health minister was quoted as saying by China Daily.

The health ministry Friday rewarded health workers for their research work on the A(H1N1) influenza vaccine.

So far, around 800 deaths due to A(H1N1) influenza has been reported in China, far below the death rate in the US, considering the large population of China, the minister said.

US authorities have confirmed more than 10,000 deaths from the flu, he said.

But the health minister warned it was still too early to say the virus had passed, as cases were being reported occasionally in other countries.

“China has more than 20 million doses of A(H1N1) vaccine in store, and pharmaceutical manufacturers are always ready for production,” Chen said.

The A(H1N1) virus was first identified in Mexico in April 2009. More than 211 countries have reported confirmed cases of the flu, including more than 18,000 deaths.