Published23 minutes agoSharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesPresident Xi Jinping and other top politicians have been given domestically produced Covid vaccines, China has said. The news was released as part of a campaign to increase vaccination rates, especially of boosters.The deputy head of China’s National Health Commission, Zeng Yixin, said it showed the leadership’s confidence in the Chinese vaccines.Health information about these figures is not usually shared with the public. Mr Zeng said the country’s leaders had “all taken the home-grown Covid-19 vaccination jabs”.He added: “This has fully displayed that they attach great importance to the epidemic prevention and control work and highly trust the home-grown Covid-19 vaccines.”Officials are trying to increase vaccination rates, which are considered too low for the country to reopen safely. China continues to follow a “zero Covid” strategy, including mass testing, strict isolation rules and local lockdowns. While there have been far fewer deaths than in many other countries, this approach is facing growing opposition as people and businesses continue to face the strain of restrictions. President Xi has repeatedly said that there is no alternative to zero Covid. China has seen 2,167,619 cases and 14,647 deaths since the pandemic began, according to Johns Hopkins University. This compares with 23,088,074 cases and 181,398 deaths in the UK. An outbreak of Covid in Shanghai in April saw the city placed into lockdown for more than two months. During the outbreak, concerns were raised over low vaccination rates. Officials said just 38% of those over 60 had received a booster, while only 15% of over-80s had been given two doses. Recent figures show that across the country, 90% of people have now had two jabs. This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.More on this storyZero Covid holds danger for China’s Xi8 JulyChinese officials sorry for Covid-19 break-ins4 days agoTourists stuck in China resort city after lockdown4 days ago

Published26 minutes agoSharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, AFPA Chinese court has ruled against an unmarried woman seeking the right to freeze her eggs.Teresa Xu took legal action in 2019 after the Beijing Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital refused to perform the procedure, only available to married women with fertility problems. But the court found that the hospital had not violated her rights. Ms Xu labelled the judgement a “setback” for women’s reproductive rights, and promised to appeal.According to the judgement the hospital said it “understood” the complaint but had to follow the law. When Ms Xu first launched the case, Chao Wei, a spokesperson for the hospital, said staff had complied with government regulations on assisted reproductive technologies, the New York Times reported.Then 30, Ms Xu attempted to freeze her eggs in 2018 in order to focus on her career as a freelance editor.But she said hospital staff had encouraged her to have a child at that time instead.She was later told the treatment was only available to women who could not become pregnant without intervention, AFP news agency reports. The hospital also said pregnancies in older women were more risky, and noted challenges faced by single mothers. Women’s eggs deteriorate with ageing, making it more difficult to have a child. There is high demand for egg freezing in China, with many women who can afford to do so travelling abroad for the procedure. Ms Xu said she had considered going abroad, but it was too expensive. Her case has been widely followed in China, where there are strict controls on birth control and reproductive rights.In a video posted on the social network WeChat, Ms Xu said she was “not going to let it end like this.””We can’t say that this is a blow to the reproductive rights of single women,” she said, “but it may be a small temporary setback.”In 2019 Ms Xu said she had experienced societal pressure to have a child rather than focus on her career.Referring to her visits to the hospital, she said: “I came here for a professional service, but instead I got someone who was urging me to put aside my work and to have a child first. “I have already received a lot of this pressure in this society, this culture.”You may also be interested inThis video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.