Thousands have been lining up in Beijing to receive their vaccinations against COVID-19, as the city steps up a mass vaccination drive after vaccination for key groups was completed in February and the country aims to inoculate 40 percent of its population by June.

In Beijing, communities have issued notice to residents, suggesting people aged between 18 and 59 register for COVID-19 jabs. The vaccination is a two-shot process that begin in late February and will last to May.

In a community in Tongzhou District, notices can be seen posted on doors of each building's entrance. A resident told CGTN that they also received the notice from the property management in the WeChat group (WeChat is a leading social media app in China), saying the vaccination is now available to all healthy people aged 18 to 59, and residents can make appointments through a given QR code to get vaccinated at a nearby designated location.

According to the Tongzhou Healthcare Commission on February 17, the district has set up 17 sites for COVID-19 vaccination, and each center can give jabs to over 20,000 people daily. CGTN observed that the district is also setting up smaller sites in other neighborhoods.

In Beijing's Chaoyang District, at least 43 sites for vaccination have been set up in residential blocks. Besides, temporary vaccination sites have also been set up in office buildings. So far, Yintai Center and Wanda Plaza, two of the most frequently visited shopping malls and office buildings in the district have set up the sites. Managers there say they're running at full capacity.

According to Zeng Lin, deputy secretary of Party Working Committee of Jianwai Community in Chaoyang District, four other vaccination spots are under way in other office buildings, namely CITIC Tower, Baosteel Tower, China Life Insurance Center and Charoen Pokphand Center. Once they're finished, each of the sites would be able to vaccinate around 1,000 people per day.

In Yintai Center, a space once used for exhibitions was renovated for vaccinations. It can be seen divided into four areas: a waiting area, where medical staff explain precautions to receivers; a registration area, where staff confirm receivers' personal information; another is the vaccination area; and the last is an observation area.

"We have worked closely with the community office and epidemic prevention department to make sure the place is suitable for vaccination work. We renovated the space as required under medical standards. About 3,000 workers in the building are set to get vaccinated," Xu Daichuan, deputy general manager of the business center told CGTN.

A COVID-19 vaccine receiver resting in the observation area told CGTN that he did not have any adverse reactions after the jab, and will go back to work soon, adding the whole process is pretty quick – it took him only five minutes to get a shot. 

"I work for a law firm in the Yintai Center. I think it's very convenient to get the jab here because there are less people, and we don't need to queue for a long time," another COVID-19 vaccine receiver told CGTN.

Beijing has already inoculated key groups against COVID-19, including frontline customs inspectors and cold-chain workers. So far, over 5 million people have received vaccines in the city. Authorities say they will continue to promote the campaign and will expand it to the public. 

So far, China has inoculated barely 3.56 percent of its population, slower than countries in the lead like Israel (92.46 percent), UAE (60 percent), UK (30 percent) and the U.S. (22 percent), according to Zhong Nanshan, a leading Chinese respiratory disease expert, at an online forum held by Tsinghua University and the Brookings Institution on Monday. But Zhong added that China is planning to reach a target of 40 percent by the end of June. 

(CGTN reporter You Yang contributed to the story)