China to store 26 mln A/H1N1 flu vaccine shots before late October

China will have reserves of 26 million A/H1N1 flu vaccine shots at the end of October, according to a news briefing jointly held by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Beijing Wednesday.

"The number is expected to increase to 100 million when the country finishes its second phase of production and reservation," said Deng Haihua, deputy director of general office of the MOH.

"Some 13,000 volunteers in seven provincial areas who have taken part in the testing of the A/H1N1 flu vaccination proved the domestically-made vaccine is effective in protection," said Zhao Kai, leader of the experts team for A/H1N1 flu vaccine and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

"The volunteers covered all age brackets," Zhao added. They received the first shots about two months ago and will be sampled for testing of effectiveness and term of protection in the third month.

"Generally speaking, the inoculations are safe, but we cannot rule out the possibility of adverse reactions," said Liang Xiaofeng, director of the immunization center under the China CDC.

Beijing has been leading the country in inoculation. About 39,000 residents in the city had been inoculated by Tuesday afternoon, with 14 cases of adverse reaction.

Liang said four of the 14 adverse reactions "may be" related to the vaccines.

"We are still investigating the reasons," Liang said.