"Uncertain About Chinese-Made mRNA Vaccines" Chinese Travelers to Macao
Macau Offers mRNA Vaccines to Mainland Chinese
Some Turn Away Due to Supply Shortages
On the 26th (local time), the British Financial Times (FT) reported that mainland Chinese who distrust domestically produced COVID-19 vaccines are flocking to Macau to receive mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
The Chinese government has not approved mRNA vaccines such as Pfizer or Moderna and only allows domestic vaccines like Sinovac and Sinopharm.
As the government shifted from a 'zero COVID' policy to a 'with COVID' approach this month, COVID-19 infections surged, causing Chinese citizens to rush to Macau. Macau is the only place outside the mainland where Chinese citizens can travel without quarantine upon return, and it also provides vaccines developed by BioNTech, Pfizer's German partner, to tourists.
On June 20th, residents of Macau, a Chinese territory, gathered in large numbers at a COVID-19 testing site, waiting for their turn to be tested. Photo by Reuters·Yonhap News
View original imageCurrently, the Macau Science and Technology Hospital, the only hospital in Macau administering COVID vaccines to tourists, is reported to have sold out of vaccines. A 27-year-old Chinese resident of Dongguan told FT in an interview that after receiving the first vaccine dose in October, he visited the hospital last week for the second dose but could not get vaccinated due to a shortage of vaccine supply. He said, "However, appointments are fully booked until the end of December."
Among China's population aged 60 and over, totaling 267 million, 85 million have not received booster shots, including about 21 million people aged 80 and above, which accounts for approximately 60% of that age group.
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However, a bigger problem is that Chinese vaccines have lower immunity formation compared to other vaccines. According to research by Singaporean medical staff, people who received Chinese vaccines such as Sinovac or Sinopharm, including booster shots, showed a 50% higher hospitalization rate than those who received Western mRNA vaccines.
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