Quality inspectors on Sinovac vaccine production lines use digital technology platforms to monitor the quality and efficiency of vaccine packaging on Sunday. Photos: Li Hao/GT

Hefei city in East China's Anhui Province has started its emergency vaccination project on Thursday, local media revealed on Friday, amid sporadic outbreaks in China before the Spring Festival that includes family reunions in February.

Nearly 50 people including students to study abroad, migrant workers and personnel employed in the cold-chain food industry, were vaccinated against COVID-19 on Thursday in Baohe district in Hefei, following the local government's efforts of a month-long investigation into residents' willingness in communities to vaccinate. 

Anhui's move came after cities in East China's Zhejiang, South China's Guangdong, Southwest China's Sichuan and Central China's Henan provinces all started emergency vaccinations earlier this winter. 

The Hefei city-level government has bought a batch of Sinovac's inactivated COVID-19 vaccines, offering it to residents for a vaccination fee of 200 yuan per injection and two injections per person, local media reported.

According to local media, Wuhu, another city in Anhui, has also conducted an investigation into residents' willingness to vaccinate against the coronavirus, and recommended key personnel to be inoculated. These include medical, health and epidemic prevention personnel, port quarantine and border inspection personnel, civil service staff, and people who are going abroad on business. 

China began emergency vaccinations against COVID-19 in July, and has completed more than 1 million doses of the vaccine so far, with no serious adverse reactions, government officials said at a press conference held by the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council on December 19. 

With the conditional or officially approved vaccine marketing and the increase of vaccine production, China's vaccination project will be carried out in a comprehensive and orderly manner for high-risk groups such as the elderly and the general population, officials said. 

China recorded 14 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, including seven imported cases. There are 11 middle-risk regions in the Chinese mainland as of Friday afternoon.

Global Times