Almost 820,000 people vaccinated in city
As of Monday, almost 820,000 people in the city have received free COVID-19 vaccines with no serious adverse reactions reported.
Around 240,000 have had their second vaccination.
Most recipients are in special groups at a high risk such as cold-chain workers and medical staff.
According to a survey by the city’s center for disease control and prevention, about 880,000 people out of 1.77 million in high-risk posts are willing to be vaccinated.
More than 7,600 individuals who will be studying or working abroad had booked inoculations since January 7, with over 1,800 of them having received the vaccine.
Sun Xiaodong, deputy director of Shanghai CDC, said the current stage of vaccination, focusing on key groups at high risk, is expected to be finished before the Spring Festival.
“Many are curious about the mass vaccination for the general public, which will start after the completion for special groups,” said Sun.
He said the city is able to provide vaccines for up to 100,000 people a day. No recipients had been infected with coronavirus so far.
The vaccines currently being used in the city are produced by Sinopharm and Sinovac Life Sciences Co in Beijing.
Sun said the vaccines, based on clinical research, can be effective for at least six months.
People line up in safety distance at Jiading Sports Center, one of the designated sites for COVID-19 vaccination in Shanghai.
Shanghai has made various plans for the vaccination management including adverse reaction monitoring and medical treatment. Each vaccine will be registered and transported by cold chain and stored at required temperatures.
Currently, there are a total of 17 temporary designated sites and 40 community health centers across the city offering vaccination.
Jiading Sports Center in Jiading district, one of the 17 designated sites, has started inoculation for key groups since December 21 last year.
The center is divided into sections for waiting, registration, inoculation and medical observation, with a maximum daily capacity of receiving 7,500 people.
According to local health commission, over 37,000 people in the district have taken the vaccines so far.
A man just finishes his inoculation at Jiading Sports Center.
This week, the center is inoculating for workers from logistic company, SAIC (Shanghai Automobile Industry Co) and Shanghai Gas Group.
Ju Chuankai who works for a software company of SAIC said that he took the vaccine in order to protect himself and family.
“My company provided us with this chance earlier,” said Ju. “I hope through our joint effort this pandemic could end in no time.”
Xu Lei from SAIC said he was not worried about the vaccination at all.
“Taking vaccination is quite common for Chinese people,” said Xu. “The side effect varies from person to person. But I believe in the safety of vaccines produced by our country.”
The COVID-19 vaccines are kept in special medical freezers under constant temperature from 2 to 8 degrees Celsius.
Recipients sit in a stadium for medical observation after the inoculation.
A temporary ward is set up in the medical observation area at Jiading Sports Center to cope with emergencies after inoculation. So far, there has been no adverse reaction reported.
