Chinese mainland registered 14,500 hospitalized COVID-19 infections on Thursday, including eight severe cases, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Saturday.

All the serious cases were caused by a combination of COVID-19 and other existing illnesses.

From Feb 17 to 23, the mainland reported seven COVID-19-related deaths at hospitals, down from 98 cases reported during the previous 7-day period. All deaths were associated with the infection and other underlying diseases.

By Thursday, the mainland has fully vaccinated about 1.28 billion people, including over 230 million aged 60 and above.