Volunteers receive China's first COVID-19 vaccine candidate from insect cells developed by the State Key Laboratory of Biological Therapy of Sichuan University-affiliated West China Hospital. Photo: Courtesy of the university

Zhuhai in South China's Guangdong Province has launched emergency COVID-19 vaccine inoculation for high-risk groups to better tackle imported infections.

The city carried out the first batch of emergency injections on December 3 at designated vaccination units, the local CDC announced on its WeChat on Thursday.

The post had been deleted by the local CDC as of press time. 

A staff member of Zhuhai CDC's vaccination consultation hotline confirmed with the Global Times on Thursday that the first round of COVID-19 vaccine injections for emergency use had been carried out in the city.

The staff member didn't comment on whether mass inoculation will follow.

According to the deleted WeChat post, the first batch of injections targets five key groups of personnel - medical, security and cleaning personnel working in quarantine sites; people working at ports, airports, border inspections, customs, airport pickup and transfer drivers; workers in the imported cold chain food sector; people exempt from quarantine who make multiple trips for official or emergency purposes; and relevant personnel at international docks.

As of Tuesday, Zhuhai has received 2,000 doses of vaccine distributed by Guangdong Province, and more than 1,100 people have been vaccinated, read the deleted post.

The post also said that the overall condition of the inoculated patients is good, with a few minor reactions such as transient low fever and temporary pain at the injection site. No serious adverse reactions have been observed.

In accordance with the national and provincial arrangements and in light of the supply and marketing of the vaccine, Zhuhai will carry out vaccinations for other vulnerable people in an orderly manner, read the deleted post from Zhuhai CDC.

China's leading vaccine producer Sinopharm announced on Thursday that it has carried out a nationwide logistics exercise to ensure safe and efficient vaccine distribution.

The exercise covers 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in China, involving more than 40 companies.

Zhuhai is not China's first city to launch a vaccination drive.

Yiwu, Jiaxing and Shaoxing in East China's Zhejiang Province have carried out injections developed by Beijing-based vaccine producer Sinovac Biotech for emergency inoculation.

Southwest China's Sichuan Province has begun emergency vaccine use for about 2 million people in 12 types of high-risk groups, with inoculation scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. The public will have access to the vaccine after the upcoming 2021 Chinese Spring Festival begins on February 12.

East China's Jiangsu Province announced on December 3 it would start vaccine procurement from leading producers, including Sinopharm and Sinovac.