HEZE, July 23 (Xinhua) -- A 103-year-old man in China's Shandong Province has received his first of two COVID-19 vaccine doses, making him his town's oldest resident to have received a COVID-19 jab.
Shan Zhigao received his first dose two weeks ago at his home in the town of Rangu, as part of an initiative by a local health center to vaccinate thousands of residents aged over 60.
Four medical workers went to Shan's home to carry out an examination that included measuring his blood pressure and blood glucose levels and performing an electrocardiogram.
A team of three visited Shan at his home on July 6 to give him his first dose of the Sinovac vaccine, after which he was under observation for just over an hour. He will receive his second shot on July 27.
As of Saturday, about 1.45 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered on the Chinese mainland, the National Health Commission announced on Sunday. It said on Friday that COVID-19 vaccinations should be voluntary, and advised some areas that had been planning to impose restrictions on unvaccinated residents to reverse their approach.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service