BEIJING -- Chinese Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan on Monday called for improved and targeted virus control measures in the autumn-winter season.

Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when inspecting the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Sustained and meticulous efforts are needed to prevent both inbound cases and a recurrence in domestic cases, Sun said, noting sporadic cases and clusters of cases should be efficiently handled to minimize the impact on people's life and work.

It is necessary to closely monitor the developments of the pandemic around the world, strengthen the research on virus mutation, transmission mechanism and pathogenicity, and study the effect of vaccination on preventing infections and severe cases, Sun said.