A citizen receives the long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine at the Dachong Community Health Center of Nanshan District Medical Group Headquarters, one of Shenzhen's five vaccination centers, on Dec 30, 2020. (Photo: chinadaily.com.cn)

Shenzhen's free COVID-19 vaccinations, starting this week for high-risk groups, are warmly welcomed by locals.

Workers related to frontline epidemic control, healthcare service, public transport and cross-border logistics, as well as people working or studying overseas, can apply for the shots, paid by the local government.

The daily quota is 300 to 500 for now, and the total number of applications has exceeded the limitation.

At the Dachong Community Health Center of Nanshan District Medical Group Headquarters, one of the city's five vaccination centers, more than a dozen medical staff were onsite to check recipients' information, set up personal health files, give the injection and guide them to set a schedule for the second shot.

People were waiting in line in an orderly way under their guidance. It took about 6 to 8 minutes for each injection, and the recipients could leave after 30 minutes of observation.

A nurse is taking out a new pack of COVID-19 vaccines at the Dachong Community Health Center of Nanshan District Medical Group Headquarters, one of the Shenzhen's five vaccination centers, on Dec 30, 2020. (Photo: chinadaily.com.cn)

Yan Weifan, one of the students inoculated at the center, said he just graduated from a university in Hong Kong, Shenzhen's neighboring city, and needs to go back for his diploma.

He waited about one hour in the health center to receive the shot. "It felt like having a normal injection with (his arm) a little sore and swollen," he said.

Song Shuyi, director of the health center, said they vaccinated about 400 people on the first day, while the number of reservations on the second and third days was 800 to 1,000.

Most were students who plan to study abroad, she said.

She highlighted that the health center has above 10,000 vaccines in stock so the supply can fully meet daily demand, and they would vaccinate as many people as they could.

The director admitted that some vaccine recipients felt a little pain and soreness on the arm, but she did not find any cases with serious adverse effects.