Guangzhou will research and draw up vaccination plans for the city's residents aged 12 to 17, said the municipal health commission on July 16.

Zheng Huizhen, the chief expert of disease control at the Guangdong Preventive Medicine Association, said that as China builds its immunity barrier, its order of inoculation starts with adults of working age, then moves to senior citizens, and finally to minors.

"Though children and adolescents display mild or asymptomatic clinical manifestations of the novel coronavirus, there still remains a risk of severe development among minors compared with adults. Children and adolescents could play an important role in the spread of the virus in communities, so it is important to conduct research into the safety and efficacy of vaccines among the young population," said Gao Qiang, general manager of Sinovac Life Sciences Co Ltd.

Vaccination for minors aged 12-17 will be organized in groups by schools, streets and communities, on a voluntary, informed basis.

 In July, China approved the emergency use of its domestic inactivated COVID-19 vaccines on minors aged from 3 to 17.

 As of July 14, nearly 23.89 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered across Guangzhou, mainly targeting adults aged between 18 and 59.