A number of ministry-level departments, including those responsible for health, national development and reform, and agriculture and rural affairs, have responded recently to public concerns.

Local clinics to offer vaccination services

Provinces other than Hubei should resume full vaccination services that have been halted due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, the National Health Commission said.

In a statement issued on its website on March 17, the commission said provincial health authorities should guide their vaccination clinics in making and implementing plans to prevent the transmission of novel coronavirus infections when resuming services.

Local centers for disease control and prevention should help the clinics offer vaccine appointments online or over the phone.

Priority should be given to vaccinations required by the national immunization program but interrupted by the outbreak, as well as overdue booster shots of other vaccines.

The clinics should set a daily cap on the number of people who get vaccinated and reduce the time they wait in clinics.

They should also avoid people gathering in the clinics for observation after vaccination.

In Hubei, the provincial Health Commission should adjust the province's vaccination work plan according to the development of the novel coronavirus epidemic, the commission said.

Healthcare institutions in the province should prioritize the administering of the first dose of hepatitis B and tuberculosis vaccines for newborns, while implementing strict local policies to contain the novel coronavirus.

Every county and district in Hubei must also make sure there are clinics that offer rabies vaccinations.

Items subject to price restrictions slashed

China has cut the number of items subject to price restrictions by nearly 30 percent in a revised government pricing catalog released on March 16, the country's top economic planner said.

The new list, to be implemented from May 1, removes items no longer subject to price controls, such as some railway and air travel tickets, compared with the previous version released in 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement.

The initial offer and final sales prices of electricity and natural gas are also removed, opening them up to market forces, but midstream transmission and distribution prices are still listed, allowing government supervision.

The list now features 16 items divided into seven categories, including goods and services in public utilities, public welfare services and network-based natural monopolies, the statement said.

The revision will help promote market-oriented reform, streamline government administration and create a fair and competitive market environment, said Li Shuguang, a law professor at China University of Political Science and Law.

Crackdown on banned drugs in aquaculture

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said it will carry out a campaign to assess veterinary drug residue in aquatic products from all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

From April to September, local agricultural affairs authorities will each sample at least 4,000 batches of aquatic products at random.

Quality inspection institutions will test the samples to see if they have excessive residual amounts of banned veterinary drugs such as nitrofuran and ofloxacin. The ministry will publicize the test results.

Local authorities should monitor and regulate the use of veterinary drugs on aquatic products, build a long-term mechanism to control drug residues and crack down more harshly on the illegal use of such drugs, the ministry said.

The ministry also said it will continue its nationwide campaign to encourage farmers to use less veterinary drugs on aquatic products and use them the right way.