Chinese people spend thousands of dollars back home to get vaccinated 4
`Sharing the experience of returning to China to get the Covid-19 vaccine on social networks has become one of the most popular topics,` said Catherine, a native of China living in Zurich.
Zhu spent nearly 70,000 yuan ($10,700) to buy a one-way ticket to China in late October, completed a nucleic acid and antibody test with negative results within 48 hours before boarding the plane, and faced charges.
After receiving the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine produced by China’s Sinovac Biotech, Zhu thought all the complicated procedures she went through to return home were worth it.
`In Switzerland, the number of new Covid-19 infections is increasing and difficulties in providing vaccines always make me worried,` Zhu said.
People line up to get vaccinated in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China, on December 28.
China is one of the leading countries in developing Covid-19 vaccines with 5 candidates undergoing Phase 3 clinical trials in more than 16 countries.
However, there is also a number of Chinese people living abroad who have recently returned home in the hope of being vaccinated.
According to Zhu, there are currently many channels for overseas Chinese to return home to get vaccinated, including making appointments through local overseas Chinese organizations, community management agencies and companies.
Zhu feels very lucky that no serious reactions have occurred from the vaccine.
When returning to Switzerland, passengers from China like her were also cleared through customs quickly and went home without needing to be quarantined or tested for nCoV.
`For me, getting vaccinated is like wearing a suit of armor. Although I will continue to wear a mask, wash my hands frequently and socially distance in the face of the serious epidemic situation in Europe, I know that there is
China has started an emergency vaccination campaign and will gradually expand it to the entire population.
Thanh Dien district, Zhejiang province, has a population of 570,000 but more than 300,000 people are abroad, including 100,000 people in Italy.
`As I know now, hundreds of Thanh Dien people in Italy have flown back to get vaccinated,` Mr. Xu said.
Flight costs are not cheap, with a one-way ticket costing about 2,500 USD and a 2-week quarantine fee of at least 700 USD.
`The vaccine is not expensive, only 400 yuan for two doses,` Xu said.
The interval between the two doses is 28 days.
People returning from abroad can make a vaccine appointment at the earliest after 14 days of medical monitoring at the border and 7 days of health monitoring at home, along with negative nucleic acid test results.
Vaccine center in Yiwu city, Zhejiang province.
For decades, Chinese people have often chosen vaccines produced by Western pharmaceutical companies if given the opportunity.
`We Chinese people in Italy recognize that the Covid-19 vaccine developed by China is very good and believe in its safety and effectiveness. The Chinese vaccine is good news to the world,` Mr. Xu said.
Representatives of both Sinopharm and Sinovac said China’s pharmaceutical regulators are reviewing their Phase Three clinical trial data to a rigorous standard, even more rigorous than many Western countries.
Experts say that the previous vaccine crisis actually undermined Chinese people’s trust in domestic immunity products and created conditions for enhancing foreign products as well as regulatory agencies.
