Medical professionals vaccinate a senior citizen at her home in Huiwen township, Wenchang, Hainan province, in December. (PU XIAOXU / XINHUA)

Downgrading the COVID-19 management from Class A to Class B is a proactive measure taken in view of the higher vaccination rate among the elderly, said a health expert from the National Health Commission.

Liang Wannian, head of the COVID-19 response expert panel under China’s National Health Commission, said the elderly's vaccination rate has risen to 80 percent so far

Liang Wannian, head of the COVID-19 response expert panel under the NHC, said in a recent interview with the China Central Television that the optimization of the management is in view of the higher vaccination rate of the seniors.

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"I was sent to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the middle of February 2022 with the expert team and found that 94 percent of the deaths were old-aged patients. Back then, the vaccination rate in Hong Kong was around 86 percent while the rate was only 15 percent for the elderly. That's the crux, because the vaccination rate in the mainland was also around 80 percent while less than 40 percent for the seniors."

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He said the elderly's vaccination rate has risen to 80 percent so far.