COVID-19 infections are returning to many countries because of the emergence of variants or declining antibody levels provided by vaccines. An additional dose of vaccination is recommended to be a considerable supplementary intervention. We aim to explore public acceptance of the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and related influencing factors in China. This nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted in the general population among 31 provinces in November, 2021. We collected information on basic characteristics, vaccination knowledge and attitudes, and vaccine-related health beliefs of the participants. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess factors associated with the acceptance of a third COVID-19 vaccine. A total of 93.7% (95% CI: 92.9–94.6%) of 3119 Chinese residents were willing to receive a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Individuals with low level of perceived susceptibility, perceived benefit, cues to action cues, and high level of perceived barriers, old age, low educational level, low monthly household income, and low knowledge score on COVID-19 were less likely to have the acceptance of a third dose of COVID-19 (all p < 0.05). In the multivariable logistic regression model, acceptance of the third dose of COVID-19 vaccine was mainly related to previous vaccination history [Sinopharm BBIP (aOR = 6.55, 95% CI 3.30–12.98), Sinovac (aOR = 5.22, 95% CI:2.72–10.02), Convidecia (aOR = 5.80, 95% CI: 2.04–16.48)], high level of perceived susceptibility (aOR = 2.48, 95% CI: 1.48–4.31) and high level of action cues (aOR = 23.66, 95% CI: 9.97–56.23). Overall, residents in China showed a high willingness to accept the third dose of COVID-19 vaccines, which can help vaccine manufacturers in China to manage the vaccine production and distribution for the huge domestic and international vaccine demand. Relevant institutions could increase people’s willingness to booster shots by increasing initial COVID-19 vaccination rates, public’s perception of COVID-19 susceptibility and cues to action through various strategies and channels. Meanwhile, it also has certain reference significance for other countries to formulate vaccine promotion strategies.

Malaria remains a major public health challenge which impacts people’s health and livelihoods worldwide, despite being preventable and curable. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 247 million malaria cases occurred in 84 malaria-endemic countries in 2021 compared to 245 million in 2020, with most of this increase coming from African countries [1]. […]

Introduction On December 7, 2022, China implemented the “Ten New Measures” to optimize its prevention and control measures for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To provide the latest data after the optimization, we evaluated trends of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among the community population in China. Methods We utilized data from the National Sentinel Community-Based Surveillance (NSCS) system in China to assess trends of SARS-CoV-2 infection. NSCS is a national community-based surveillance cohort with 0.42 million participants from all 31 provincial-level administrative divisions (PLADs) and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corp (XPCC). Participants were tested for infection twice a week (a total of eight rounds) from December 16, 2022 to January 12, 2023. SARS-CoV-2 infection was defined as testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid or antigen. We calculated the daily average of newly positive rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results In this national cohort, the daily average newly positive rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection decreased from 4.13% in Round 1 (December 16–19, 2022) to 0.69% in Round 8 (January 10–12, 2023). The epidemic peak occurred in Round 2 (December 20–22, 2022). Similar trends were observed in urban areas (decreasing from 4.65% to 0.73%), rural areas (decreasing from 2.83% to 0.57%), the eastern region (decreasing from 4.18% to 0.67%), the central region (decreasing from 5.43% to 0.61%), and the western region (decreasing from 3.01% to 0.77%). Conclusions NSCS data showed that the peak of SARS-CoV-2 infection in China had passed. SARS-CoV-2 infection in community populations in China is currently at a low epidemic level.

Background: Given the prevalence of the omicron variant and decreased immunity provided by vaccines, it is imperative to enhance resistance to COVID-19 in the old population. We planned to explore the hesitancy rate toward the booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and the association between risk perception and the abovementioned rate among people aged 60 and older. Methods: This national cross-sectional study was conducted in mainland China from 25 May to 8 June 2022, targeting people who were 60 years old or above. Four dimensions were extracted from the Health Belief Model (HBM) to assess participants’ perceived risk levels, including perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived barriers, and perceived benefit. An independent Chi-square test was used to compare the vaccine hesitancy rates among different groups stratified by characteristics. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were performed to explore the associations between risk perception and hesitancy rate. Results: Of 3321 participants, 17.2% (95% CI: 15.9–18.5%) were hesitant about booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines. Believing that they were ineligible for vaccination due to certain illnesses (38.3%), concern about vaccine safety (32.0%), believing the booster shots were unnecessary (33.1%), and their limitation on movements (28.0%) were the main reasons for vaccine hesitation. Adjusted by all the selected covariates, people with low perception level of susceptibility (aOR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.00–1.92) and benefit (low: aOR = 3.31, 95% CI: 2.01–5.45; moderate: aOR = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.75–2.85) were less likely to receiving the booster dose, and the same results were found in people with higher perceived barriers (moderate: aOR = 2.67, 95% CI: 2.13–3.35; high: aOR = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.14–3.67). Our estimates were stable in all four models. Conclusions: In total, 17.2% of the people aged 60 years and older in China were hesitant about booster dose of COVID-19 vaccines, and it was closely associated with a lower level of perceived susceptibility and benefit, as well as a higher level of perceived barriers. Concerns about contraindications, vaccine safety, and limited movements were the main reasons for vaccine hesitancy. Targeted public health measure is a priority to improve the understanding of the elderly on their own susceptibility and vulnerability and clear the obstacles to vaccination.

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posed a significant impact on global public health, particularly old adults who were more vulnerable to severe illness and complications following COVID-19 infection [1]. Although survivors recovered from the acute phase of COVID-19, many of them were facing various ongoing symptoms, which were defined as post-COVID-19 condition […]

At the end of March 2009, the Chinese government put forward the new health-care reform with its long-term goal to achieve universal access to basic medical and health services. Primary health-care institutions and adequate health human resources are the basic and specific guarantee to achieve the above goals. We aimed to explore the differences in the trends of human resources before and after the new health-care reform from 2003 to 2019, based on Chinese Health Statistics Yearbook, an using interrupted time series analysis. The number of primary health workers serving for every 1000 people in China gradually rose from 1.98 in 2003 to 3.07 in 2020, with an immediate sharp rise from 2008 to 2009. Subsequently, the number of primary health workers increased at a significant speed, but it still failed to meet people’s basic medical needs (3.5/1000). There was an increase of 51,301 primary health staff in 2010, and 6007 more primary health workers per year were added after the reform compared to the basic increasing number before 2009, but both were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). The annual increased number of health workers in township health centers was 2.63 times greater than that before the reform, with a total annual increase of 34,192 people (p < 0.05). The growth trend changed the most in western China (p < 0.001), while the human resources of primary health-care institutions in the eastern region were relatively richer than those in the central and western regions. Numerous registered nurses and pharmacists have been devoted to the construction of the primary health-care service since 2010, while the increase in the number of doctors per year was not statistically significant (p = 0.066). In total, the primary health-care human resource in China is constantly expanding, but the primary health-care needs are still not fully met, especially for doctors, and the problem of unbalanced allocation urgently needs to be solved. Reasonably formulating regional policies to strengthen the construction of primary health personnel and expand the accessibility of primary health services is the top priority in the development of primary medical and health undertakings.