Beijing has started COVID-19 vaccination for foreign nationals in the city, the municipal foreign affairs office said on Friday.

According to the statement, with voluntary participation and informed consent, foreign nationals aged 18 or above eligible for the vaccination can make appointments through their employers or nearby local residential community offices to receive the jabs.

The program will use the domestic inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in two doses.

The vaccines will be free of charge for foreign nationals under Beijing's social medical insurance scheme. Others will be charged at the current rate of 93.5 yuan ($14.29) per dose.

The mini program service Health Kit allows vaccinated foreign residents to download the vaccine certificate after completing two shots for future use.

Not just Beijing, other cities including Shanghai and Wuhan, also started to include foreign residents in the vaccination plan. Shanghai municipal authorities announced on Tuesday that foreign residents who fit the requirement for the COVID-19 vaccine can receive the shots starting March 29.

Foreign residents can book the vaccination via the app service Health Cloud and receive shots at designated locations by showing their valid residence ID or passports.

The policy raised discussions among the expat community, and some people are already taking action. Hüseyin Emre Engin, Consul General of Turkey in Shanghai, said he and his family will receive COVID-19 vaccines in Shanghai, Global Times reported.

Pablo Obregon, Consul General of Argentina in Shanghai, said, "We consider it's a very positive initiative from the local authorities, and our personnel will surely take part in it."

In Wuhan, David Wilmots is the first foreign resident in his community to receive the first COVID-19 inoculation, on Wednesday. Living in Wuhan for over two decades, Wilmots is a local bar owner. "It was a great service experience, and most importantly, it is safe," he told CGTN after receiving the vaccine developed by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products.

China's Foreign Ministry also offered journalists of foreign media the possibility of being inoculated with the Chinese vaccine.

As of March 23, about 150 foreign journalists of 71 media outlets from 27 countries who reside in China have received the COVID-19 vaccine with no adverse effect, said Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying at a press conference on Wednesday when a journalist asked about China's purpose of such policy.

Hua said many journalists were grateful and said it was "a gift in the spring." She said they also concluded that Chinese vaccines are safe. "A Japanese friend said that he wanted to suggest that other foreign journalists in China get inoculated too."