BEIJING - A total of 1.225 billion people in China have been vaccinated against COVID-19, including those who have only received one dose, covering 86.9 percent of the country's population, according to official figures unveiled Saturday.

In addition, around 65.73 million people have received a booster shot, said Wu Liangyou, deputy head of the disease control and prevention division of the National Health Commission (NHC), at a press conference.

More than 2.42 billion vaccine jabs had been administered nationwide as of Friday, with over 1.076 billion people in the country fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, NHC figures showed.

"The mass vaccination campaign has played an important role in curbing the transmission of novel coronavirus and preventing the occurrence of severe cases," Wu said.