The Chinese government Friday ordered 7.3 million doses of A/H1N1 flu vaccine from domestic pharmaceutical companies Sinovac and Hualan, the first firms to receive production licenses.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) ordered 3.3 million 15-microgram doses of vaccine from Sinovac and 4 million from Hualan Biological Engineering Inc. They are required to fill the orders within ten days, the two companies said Friday.

The vaccines will be reserved by the State instead of going on general sale across the country.

The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) issued the first license in the world for Sinovac vaccine Panflu 1 on Thursday, and issued the license for Hualan's vaccine on Friday. Both have passed SFDA experts' evaluation.

Panflu 1 can be given safely to people aged from three to 60 years old in a single shot, while Hualan's vaccine is suitable for all aged over three, according to evaluation reports.

Sinovac said it had the capacity to produce 5 million doses of vaccine before Oct.1, and 20 to 30 million doses a year. Hualan said it could produce 13 million doses before Oct.1.

MIIT ordered the vaccine following Ministry of Health recommendation, and the cost will be paid by the Ministry of Finance.

Health Minister Chen Zhu said in August that China would be able to produce enough A/H1N1 'flu vaccine for 65 million people by the end of the year.

In the 48 hours ending 3:00 PM Friday, the Chinese mainland reported 434 new cases of the A/H1N1 influenza, putting the total number at 4,415, China's Health Ministry said Friday evening.

Among the newly confirmed, 12 were "imported cases," and the remainders were infected on the Chinese mainland, the ministry said.

More than 3,500 of all infected have recovered, the ministry said, adding that the influenza had so far caused no deaths on the mainland.

(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2009)