"By 18th-March, foreign students and teachers were vaccinated free of charge, based on the needs of prevention and control of COVID-19," he said. "The staff members were so kind and served us very gracefully. Around 100 Chinese people were also there for vaccination. I can see the sense of satisfaction on their faces."

Pakistani student Muhammad Sultan Irshad got his first shot of COVID-19 vaccine at the campus hospital of Hubei University in Wuhan, Hubei province, on Tuesday. He was one of 12 foreign students at the university who volunteered to get vaccinated that day.

By Tuesday, 13 out of 30 international students at the university had been inoculated with a domestically made vaccine, and one student is waiting for it today, according to the university.

Wuhan University released the notice for foreign students to make an appointment for inoculation on Tuesday afternoon, with a QR code to scan and a form to fill out online.

About 100 of 230 foreign students filled out applications within one hour, and family members of some students came to ask whether they could get vaccinated too. It shows their confidence in the Chinese government and the country's vaccines, said Xu Hui, vice-president of the School of International Education of Wuhan University.

The university planned to finish vaccination for foreign students on Thursday and Friday.

People aged 18 to 59 in Wuhan were allowed to apply for COVID-19 vaccines at 15 designated clinics since March 12, according to local authorities. Foreigners can apply using their passport.

In total, more than 500,000 people in the city have had their first shot, and about 100,000 have finished two doses, data from the local health commission showed.

Foreigners working in international aid companies have also been given the option to take a shot of a Chinese-made vaccine, HT learnt.

Family members in the age group of 18-59 years are included in the offer.

Beijing rolled out vaccinations for its own citizens, mostly for frontline workers, in health care, customs and specific industries that the government selected under emergency laws in July last year, but it was for the first time, earlier this month, that the government reached out to foreign missions, companies and journalists through the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs.

The vaccine being offered is the inactivated Sars-CoV-2 vaccine, developed by Sinopharm’s China National Biotec Group, which has been granted conditional market approval by China’s National Medical Products Administration.

The two shots - the second to be taken after 21 days - will cost about 90-100 yuan each.

Some diplomats, said they were weighing the option whether to take the shot.