"The rumor violates science and does not consist of any truth," said ministry spokesman Mao Qun'an. "It is total fabrication."

CONTAINING INFECTION: Shuanghe Elementary School students in China's southwestern Sichuan Province resume classes on November 3 after a 10-day suspension that was triggered by an A/H1N1 outbreak (QIU HAIYING)

The spokesman said that Beijing did not carry out large-scale vaccinations among primary and secondary school students before the National Day. No epidemic outbreak would occur among people who have been given vaccination, since the immunization has already proven to be effective, he added.

At a November 3 press conference, Liang Xiaofeng, Director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccination program, said 10 Chinese pharmaceutical companies conducted clinical trials on more than 13,000 people, the largest test in the world to date, to guarantee the safety of the A/H1N1 vaccine. Liang said only about 300 people receiving the vaccine were reported to have adverse drug reactions (ADR).

"ADR cases related to the A/H1N1 flu vaccines are very few," Liang said.

Liang did acknowledge that China's monitoring network for ADR was far from perfect and that the country is working with WHO to improve it.

"In some cases, when patients suffered minor fevers and pains, their symptoms were not reported," he said.

He urged people who have received the vaccine to report them to authorities when they develop such symptoms.

O'Leary also said on October 27 that the domestically produced A/H1N1 vaccine is safe and that the WHO would continue to push for vaccination in the fight against the disease.

He said that China's use of the A/H1N1 flu vaccine had been proven safe and in line with WHO expectations.

Responding to the public's worries over the vaccines, O'Leary said the A/H1N1 flu vaccine was developed in almost the same way as regular seasonal flu vaccines, and that there is no difference between the A/H1N1 inoculation and seasonal flu shots in terms of safety and effectiveness.

Mass production of the preventative was necessary to reduce the number of infections, O'Leary said, though nothing is ever 100 percent safe or effective, and the key is to reach a balance between possible harms brought by the disease itself and the vaccination.

Dealing with the shortage

Liang said the reality of the increasing rate of infection would make those believing that they are healthy enough to forego vaccination and those worried about the vaccine's safety and effectiveness start to join the crowds demanding the shot. Liang believed that it wouldn't be long before the Chinese Government has to deal with a shortage of available vaccines.

"During my field survey in Shanghai, I found that local governments there did a good job in alleviating the stress. Government leaders demanded that if ordinary people eagerly want to be vaccinated, officials and medical staff should give the opportunity to those badly needing vaccines. If nobody wants to be vaccinated, government officials and medical staff should be the first to take the shots," said Liang.

He said if China could not beat the clock to vaccinate its most vulnerable population in time, then it could see an outcome like Australia's, where 30 percent of that country's population was already infected by the time pharmaceutical companies started conducting vaccine trials.

WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said pregnant women, like other high-risk groups, should also be vaccinated against the

A/H1N1 virus, as the cold weather begins to take hold in the Northern Hemisphere.

The State Food and Drug Administration said that it is studying the possibility of including pregnant women and children under three in the country's inoculation program against A/H1N1. Officials expect to release their results in a few days.