FREE COVID-19 vaccinations restarted yesterday for Shanghai residents, who need to go abroad for personal reasons, the local government announced.

People, aged between 18 and 59, can make an appointment on the mobile phone app Jiankangyun. But the vaccine is not available for expats yet, the city’s health hotline 12320 said on Saturday.

The service had been provided between January 7 and February 5 for local residents traveling overseas before the Spring Festival, which fell on February 12.

A person must carry the original and copy of their passport, valid visa, airline ticket, ID card, hukou or residence permit, for their appointments. People have to be injected twice, with the interval between the two shots being at least 14 days.

People suffering from severe liver or kidney diseases, uncontrolled hypertension, diabetic complications or malignant tumor, should not be vaccinated.

There are 17 vaccination sites in 16 districts in the city. Inquiries can be made with the hotline.

China has approved 16 domestically made COVID-19 vaccines for clinical trials, six of which have entered Phase 3, according to the latest data from the National Medical Products Administration.

Two inactivated COVID-19 vaccines from China have hit the market on a conditional basis: a vaccine from China National Biotec Group affiliated with Sinopharm, and the CoronaVac vaccine developed by Sinovac Biotech. They received approvals from the administration on December 30, 2020, and February 5, respectively, this year.

In addition to inactivated vaccines, China has adopted four technological approaches to COVID-19 vaccines: recombinant protein vaccines, adenovirus vector vaccines, nucleic acid vaccines and vaccines using attenuated influenza viruses as vectors.

As of February 9, China has administered 40.52 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to key groups, said National Health Commission spokesperson Mi Feng.

The Chinese mainland reported no new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the commission said yesterday.

No new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases had been reported for six straight days since Monday, according to the commission. One such case was reported in Hebei Province last Sunday.

The commission said it received reports of seven new imported COVID-19 cases on Saturday, including three from Shanghai.

Two new suspected imported cases were also reported in Shanghai.

Tonghua City in Jilin Province, a hot spot of the recent coronavirus flare-up in north China, announced yesterday its district of Dongchang had been downgraded to a low COVID-19 infection risk area.

The province has cleared all areas with medium infection risks.

Traffic control in the city has been lifted, while railway, highway and air passenger services are resuming in an orderly manner. The city proposed the temporary closing of businesses where people gather in close proximity, such as theaters, as well as the suspension of celebrations, performances and other gathering activities.