Beijing began Monday to give free A/H1N1 flu vaccinations to its 12 million permanent residents.

People aged above three could voluntarily be vaccinated at 402 designated hospitals and health centers by December 13, said Xie Hui, an official in charge of disease control with Beijing Health Bureau.

More than 9,000 citizens had been vaccinated as of 3:30 PM in the first day of the move, said Xie.

Vaccines for senior citizens above 60 years had also been prepared, said Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of Beijing disease control and prevention center.

By Sunday, more than 1.4 million people, including high-risk groups such as students, in Beijing had already been vaccinated against A/H1N1 flu. There had been no reports of serious adverse reaction, according to Xie.

The vaccination campaign was launched across China to help high-risk population to stay away from the virus.

By Saturday, Chinese health authorities had inoculated more than 15 million people with the China-made A/H1N1 flu vaccines, the Ministry of Health said.

The mainland had reported 65,927 confirmed cases of the A/H1N1 flu by Friday. A total of 43 people had died and 49,770 had recovered, the ministry said.

Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in northwest China, also began giving free A/H1N1 influenza vaccinations to about 5,000 monks and nuns in all temples and nunneries in the city on Monday.

The inoculations are voluntary and will last until Friday, said Chodar, deputy director of the Lhasa Municipal Bureau of Health.

(Xinhua News Agency November 17, 2009)