Beijing, April 10: China will likely be able to manufacture 3 Billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of the year, Zheng Zhongwei, a National Health Commission official and head of team coordinating the country coronavirus vaccine development project, reportedly said on Saturday. As per report, he added,"In the second half of this year, we are fully capable of meeting our own demand." China to Give COVID-19 Vaccines for Senior Citizens but Only a Single Jab.

The Chinese government in a recently said that the production of COVID-19 vaccines in the country tripled from February 1 through late March to 5 million doses a day, as reported by Reuters. Vaccine manufacturers in China have also increased their production capacity. Sinovac Biotech, leading coronavirus vaccine manufacturer in the country, had said that it had doubled its annual production capacity to 2 billion doses after completing its third production facility. China: Shanghai to Offer COVID-19 Vaccines for Foreign Residents.

Another vaccine maker, the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) has a combined annual production capacity of at least 1.1 Billion for two separate vaccines. As per report, Sinopharm recently said that it will be able to supply 100 million COVID-19 vaccines a month starting from April.

The total coronavirus tally in China stands at 1,03,034 as per WHO data. In the past 24 hours the country reported 31 new COVID-19 cases and no deaths. The death toll in the country from virus stands at 4,851.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 10, 2021 03:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).