China’s COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Surges Ahead

A mere 15 minutes after his Sinovac jab at a Beijing stadium outfitted with vaccination stations on April 5, American expat Steven saw an inoculation status update on his jiankang bao, or “Health Kit,” a smartphone mini-app that has become ubiquitous in China throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It was an efficient and technologically advanced process, according to Steven, who asked to only give his first name. He had eagerly queued up on one of the vaccine’s first days of availability for foreigners in China, well before the World Health Organization gave emergency approval to Sinopharm, the country’s other major vaccine, on May 7; Sinovac wasn’t given the WHO’s green light until June 2.

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