HAIKOU, March 25. /TASS/. China's Hainan this month distributed 1.14 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to local residents, all vaccinated will soon receive a second dose of the drug, reported the "Hainan Daily".

The local authorities began the second round of mass vaccinations in March ahead of two major events: the Boao Economic Forum for Asia, which will take place from April 18 to 21, and the first China International Consumer Products Show in Haikou, scheduled for May 7-10. The provincial government expects a large number of visitors, including from overseas. This increases the risks of the spread of coronavirus infection. In this situation, the vaccination campaign will strengthen herd immunity on Hainan, the newspaper writes.

The Hainan authorities planned to vaccinate in March the inhabitants of three large cities in the province: Haikou, Qionghai and Sanya, 500,000, 280,000 and 250,000 people, respectively.

The first round of vaccinations for priority categories of population began in the province in December 2020. The drug was given to those who are in frequent contact with a large number of people and possible sources of infection. At the first stage, doctors vaccinated 391,000 people. According to the latest data, at the moment 506,000 people have already received two doses of the drug in the province.

The Boao forum is called the Eastern Davos — it is a major platform for signing important agreements, coordinating positions between representatives of business and government circles in many states.

The first China International Consumer Products expo is one of the measures to implement the master program for the development of Hainan's free trade port. More than 800 companies from China and 630 from abroad, including world famous brands, will take part in the event.