China's Health Ministry announced on Wednesday initial clinical tests on the country's A/H1N1 flu vaccines proved the drug to be "safe and reliable" for human use, as test volunteers readied themselves for a second round of inoculation.

No cases of severe adverse drug reactions had been reported among more than 13,300 volunteers who took part in clinical trials of vaccines developed by 10 Chinese pharmaceutical companies, said a statement from the ministry.

In a demonstration of confidence in the drugs, Health Minister Chen Zhu took the lead on Wednesday afternoon by receiving his second inoculation of the vaccine. Chen received the first shot in China on July 22.

The other volunteers will receive their second vaccinations from later Wednesday, 21 days after their first shot.

They would be studied by an expert team from the Health Ministry and further results will be compiled in mid August, said Wang Yu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDCP).

All clinical trials of China's vaccines were supervised by the CCDCP.

Wang said the ministry would unveil China's vaccination plan after the the A/H1N1 flu vaccine clinical trials end in mid September, adding that safety was the top priority in the research and development of the drug.

By August 10, the Chinese mainland had confirmed 2,348 cases of A/H1N1 influenza, with no fatal cases, of those, 2,167 people have recovered.

In another circular on Wednesday, the ministry called for stepped-up flu monitoring in order "to keep a timely watch on the spread and the mutation of the virus."

The ministry decided in May to increase the numbers of hospitals and laboratories to monitor seasonal flu from 197 and 84 to 556 and 411 respectively. They have been told to begin flu monitoring from August 15 and August 30 respectively.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2009)