Table 3.
Main vaccine interventions in six countries.
| Country/Measure | Vaccine development | Vaccination |
|---|---|---|
| China | 1. China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention has successfully isolated the country’s first strain of the novel coronavirus. 2. A recombinant novel coronavirus vaccine has been approved for clinical trials. 3. China officially joined the COVID-19 vaccine Implementation Plan. |
1. The first step was to vaccinate key groups, the second to vaccinate key groups and high-risk groups, and the third to vaccinate the general population and other groups. 2. Recent vaccination has focused on bridging the immunity gap between different target populations. |
| Germany | 1. Germany approved a clinical trial of a novel coronavirus vaccine candidate made by German biotech company BioNTech. 2. In the first phase of the clinical trial, 200 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 55 were given several different vaccines. |
1. December 2020–April 2021: vaccinated very high-risk populations. 2. May–July 2021: vaccinated high-risk populations. 3. July–August 2021: Vaccinated moderate-risk groups. 4. August–November 2021: vaccinated relatively high-risk and relatively low-risk populations. 5. December 2021: vaccinated low-risk populations. |
| Australia | 1. A proprietary technology was used in a bid to fast-track production of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus. 2. Within 3 weeks, the team had the first vaccine candidate in the lab. |
1. The first doses were given to front-line workers and people who had been in contact with international travellers. 2. It announced plans to complete a mass vaccination programme for its 25 million citizens by the end of 2021. |
| The United States | 1. The first US vaccine against COVID-19 was injected into people in a human trial involving 45 volunteers. 2. Pfizer announced the simultaneous launch of its mRNA vaccine, developed in collaboration with BioNTech. |
1. December 2020: Health care workers and older adult people in nursing homes. 2. January–March 2021: Core job groups such as teachers and police officers, patients with high-risk diseases and seniors over 65 years old. 3. April–June 2021: Free vaccine available throughout the United States. |
| South Africa | 1. Afrigen, a South African biotechnology company, has successfully developed and produced the continent’s first mRNA vaccine against COVID-19. | 1. The plan was to launch phase 2 and Phase 3 vaccinations on May 17 and October 17. 2. The plan was to vaccinate two-thirds of the population by the end of 2021. |
| Italy | 1. In 2020, the first phase of a novel coronavirus vaccine was successfully tested in Italy, where antibodies produced in mice proved effective. 2. The National Institute of Infectious Diseases recruited volunteers for a clinical trial of the vaccine. |
1. Italy officially started the COVID-19 vaccination campaign on December 27, 2020, and people in Italy can receive free vaccines according to the order of vaccination published by the Ministry of Health. 2. The vaccination of persons in Italy was phased in four phases. The first phase was from January to March, the second from April to June, the third from July to September, and the fourth from October to December. |
The data came from the official websites of the six governments (15–20).