With more than 40 million vaccinations already administered in China, it’s been revealed guidelines for the two approved vaccines restrict people over 60 from being inoculated.
According to the governing body’s guidelines only people aged between 18 and 59 are eligible for the jab, government-owned media Sixth Tone reported.
People in high-risk jobs, such as health workers and customs officials, are being prioritized ahead of the country’s most vulnerable people aged over 60.
It was reported both approved vaccines, from Sinopharm and Sinovac, had proven ineffective in people who are over 60-years-old.
However, clinical trials for Sinopharm failed to include people over 60 and a clinical trial of Sinovac only included 600 people aged over 59, out of 12,000 participants.
Experts said the restriction would present issues for the rest of the world if international travel ramped up post vaccination roll out yet China’s elderly were still unvaccinated.
