COVID-19 Booster Shots Underway in Beijing

A number of people have notified us they've received announcements regarding receiving COVID-19 booster shots in Beijing, and several communities have already started administering them.

Based on two announcements, one from a residential compound in Chaoyang and the other from a city school, residents aged 18 and above who have been vaccinated against the virus for over 6 months are being offered a third dose.

One source, a PRC national, told us she received the booster yesterday via her partner's employer. The source also says she was able to get the jab despite having received her first two doses in a different area of the city. The dose she received was from the same manufacturer of her first two doses, and she said that the vaccine center was equipped with both the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines, the variants that most people in Beijing have received.

In late September, the Global Times reported that China’s National Health Commission (NHC) had been “formulating policies and measures for a booster shot against COVID-19.” This followed a study conducted earlier in the same month in which Chinese researchers found an extra jab from Sinovac’s coronavirus vaccine could potentially boost immunity two and a half times higher, and could block against the highly contagious Delta variant.

China also plans to use an mRNA vaccine co-produced by Fosun Medical Group and Germany's BioNTech for boosters, according to a report from Caixin.

As of press time, no official announcements have been made by relevant health or government agencies, and several questions remain unanswered. For one, we still don't know if foreign residents will be eligible for a booster right away, or whether the rollout will target local residents first -- Chinese residents began receiving their first jabs in December of last year, whereas foreigners became eligible in March of this year. We also don't know the policy for those who received their initial vaccines from manufacturers other than Sinovac or Sinopharm.

We will continue to monitor these developments and keep you up to date with the latest.

Images: CGTN, malaya.com.ph