Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Children from 3 to 11 years old will be vaccinated against COVID-19 in five provinces of China. Among the adult population, 76% have already completed the full course of vaccination, writes Associated Press.

The expansion of the vaccination campaign is due to some areas of China taking tough new measures to try to eradicate small outbreaks. Gansu, a northwestern province heavily reliant on tourism, closed all tourist sites on 25 October following the discovery of new cases of COVID-19. Residents of parts of Inner Mongolia have been ordered to stay at home due to a new outbreak of COVID-19.

The National Health Commission said 35 new cases of local transmission have been identified in the past 24 hours, four of them in Gansu. Another 19 cases were found in the Inner Mongolia region, while others were reported in different parts of the country.

The most widely used vaccines in China, Sinopharm and Sinovac, have been shown to be effective in preventing severe disease and virus transmission, according to the data.

In June, China approved two vaccines - Sinopharm from the Beijing Biological Products Institute and Sinovac - for children ages 3 to 17, but only children 12 and older were vaccinated. In August, regulators approved another - Sinopharm from the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products.

After vaccines were approved for children in China, foreign governments began to vaccinate children in their countries. In Cambodia, both Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines are used for children 6-11 years old. Chilean regulatory authorities have approved the Sinovac vaccine for children aged 6 years and older. Argentina has approved the Sinopharm vaccine for children aged 3 years and older.