BEIJING — A Chinese health official said on May 14 that it is a "pressing" task to step up COVID-19 vaccination across the country amid mounting risk of virus variation.

He Qinghua, an official with the National Health Commission (NHC), made the remarks at a press conference in Beijing.

Citing statistics from the World Health Organization, He said that the variations of novel coronavirus are increasingly frequent.

Chinese inactivated COVID-19 vaccines have proved effective against several mutated strains of COVID-19, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention expert Shao Yiming told the press conference.

According to research data, Chinese vaccines are effective against the mutated strains found in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Brazil, Shao added.

China is capable of rapidly adjusting its vaccine development to ensure the vaccines' potency against mutated strains, Shao noted.

Approximately 366.91 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered across China as of May 13, according to the NHC.