Beijing health authorities said on Friday that they would extend the A/H1N1 flu vaccine inoculation to all the city's 16 million residents as death toll from the epidemic kept rising on the Chinese mainland.

"The city now has 3.63 million dozes of A/H1N1 vaccines," said Zhao Tao, an official with Beijing Public Health Bureau. "Everyone above three years old with registered residence of the city can have free inoculation as long as they want to."

He said more vaccines would be allocated to the city.

Before the latest decision, Beijing gave priority to people more likely to fall victim to A/H1N1 flu, such as students and medical personnel, when handing out the vaccine.

Zhao said as of Thursday, more than 440,000 residents in Beijing had been inoculated with the A/H1N1 flu vaccine and no case of adverse reaction had been reported.

As of Friday, more than 10 deaths from A/H1N1 flu have been reported on the Chinese mainland.

(Xinhua News Agency November 7, 2009)