The Chinese government will further expand its free Hepatitis B vaccination program to cover children under 15 years old who have not been vaccinated against the disease, Vice Health Minister Zhang Mao announced on Thursday at a teleconference.

The measure is among six public health projects that officially kicked off this week, China National Radio reports.

The government began offering free Hepetitis B vaccinations to children born after 2002. Thursday's announcement will expand the coverage to children under 15 years old who have never been vaccinated or have not received the entire vaccine series.

Other measures unveiled at the conference include providing pregnant women in rural area with free folic acid tablets to avoid newborn defects, free cervical and breast cancer checkups for women in rural areas, and cataract operation subsidies for poverty-trapped patients.

The Vice Health Minister also discussed installing flush toilets in villages and providing stoves for rural households to prevent Fluoride poisoning triggered by coal-burning.

(Xinhua News Agency June 18, 2009)