China's about to administer its billionth coronavirus shot.
Yes, you read that right.
Updated 1615 GMT (0015 HKT) June 18, 2021
Within days, China will reach a staggering 1 billion doses in its Covid-19 vaccination drive -- a scale and speed unrivaled by any other country in the world.
As of Wednesday, China had administered more than 945 million doses -- three times the number delivered in the United States, and almost 40% of the 2.5 billion shots given globally.
The number is all the more remarkable given its rollout had a slow start. China only reached its first million doses on March 27 -- two weeks behind the US. But the pace picked up significantly in May, with more than 500 million shots given over the past month, according to data from China's National Health Commission.
On Tuesday alone, it administered more than 20 million doses. At that rate, it is likely to exceed 1 billion doses this weekend.
