Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine. Photo: VCG

281,800 people from key groups in East China's Zhejiang Province have received emergency COVID-19 vaccines so far, Zhejiang's health authorities said at a press conference held Tuesday. Zhejiang is reportedly the first province in China to have started its emergency vaccination campaign.

462,900 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered, with each person needing two doses. No serious adverse reactions have been observed.  

Zhejiang reported an asymptomatic case in its capital city Hangzhou on Tuesday. The patient is a security staff member who was working at a quarantine location for inbound travelers, where several confirmed and asymptomatic imported cases were found recently.

The province will complete all emergency vaccinations before February 5, the authority announced. Vaccinations for the elderly and people with basic diseases as well as ordinary people will be carried out gradually as vaccines are approved for market, and as the production and supply of vaccines improves.

In the province's emergency vaccination campaign, priority is given to those engaged in import cold chain, port quarantine, cargo handling, transportation, disease control and fresh food markets, as well as those working or studying in countries or regions at high risk of the epidemic.

15,698 medical staff in the province have received professional training for administrating COVID-19 vaccines and obtained qualification certificates.

Multiple Chinese cities have rolled out emergency vaccination plans amid sporadic outbreaks of the coronavirus across the country. Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province, for example, started to provide free COVID-19 vaccinations for high-risk groups and people plan to go abroad from Monday.

Shanghai also started its vaccination program recently, mainly involving personnel in key positions with a higher risk of contracting the coronavirus. People going abroad for private matters will be covered later, Xinhua News agency reported Saturday.

Moreover, Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality and cities in East China's Shandong, Southwest China's Sichuan and Central China's Henan provinces also opened vaccination registration for key groups on a voluntary basis. 

China's National Health Commission said on December 19 that more vaccines will be put into use for the public as they are approved for market.