Expats: How to Register to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine in Guangdong

From today, foreigners in Guangdong province, between the ages of 18 and 59 years old, are able to register to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The form is in English, however, we've put together this step-by-step guide with useful tips and answers to various questions we've received over the last few days, to help make the process go more smoothly for you. To get started, simply scan the QR Code below and follow along.

If you see the screen below in Chinese when you scan the above code, don't worry, just click on the orange box, shown below with a red outline. 

You'll then get to the main COVID-19 vaccination page for foreigners in Guangdong province. Click the "Covid-19 vaccination service for foreigners" button (outlined in red below) to continue the registration process. If the page appears in Chinese, click the green oval button below that to switch to English. 

Before you begin the registration, you'll need to bind your phone/wechat account to the registration form. Enter your name and phone number in the fields then click the button to send you the verification code. Once you receive it via SMS, enter it into the verification code field and click the Sign In button. 

Once that's done, you'll be asked to enter in your personal details. Applications are being accepted for foreigners holding a valid visa, residence permit or permanent residence permit. There currently are no restrictions preventing you from registering to receive the vaccine as long as you have a valid visa to be in China and have an address in Guangdong province. If you do not have Guangdong social insurance; however, you will be asked to pay 100rmb per dose for the vaccine.

Once completed, you'll see your details there that are linked to the account. If these aren't correct, click the "Unbind" link in yellow and try again. You can also click the "Add an adult" button at the bottom of the page to add more registrants. If you're ready to continue, click the "Appointment for Vaccination" button.

The first step to getting an appointment is to choose which vaccine you would like. As of 6pm, Monday, April 12th, the only option available was the inactivated SARS-COV-2 Vaccine (Vero cell). Since this choice selector exists on the form though, it's likely more options will be added later. 

The next step is to choose your Vaccination Site. If this open is not opening when clicked, be sure to click directly on the "Choose" word. If it still isn't clickable, click again on "Choose" of the Vaccine Type, then click the green "Confirm" text there and try again. The page seems to only let you proceed to the next step once each preceeding step is confirmed. 

As of 6pm, Monday, April 12th, the only locations available were Nansha and Tianhe in Guangzhou. Check back later if you don't see an option you like as more locations will be added. Once selected, the next option lets you choose your clinic of choice at that location. 

The final step is to choose a date and time. Unfortunately, these are filling up fast and as they don't prevent you from choosing a clinic that is already full, you may get all the way to this step and see that there are no available times. Hopefully they'll fix that by letting us know before getting this far that there are no available appointment times.

If you make a mistake during any of these steps, or there are no available times, and you want to choose different options, swipe back to get out of the appointment section then re-enter and start over as it currently doesn't seem to let you change choices yet once selected.

That's it. Once you select your time and click "Confirm Appointment" you'll see a popup message in Chinese confirming your appointment time. You'll also receive an SMS in English confirming your appointment has been successfully booked with the time and location and a reminder to bring your ID.

If you can't make it to your scheduled appointment, don't worry, it's easy to cancel the appointment. Simply come back to the mini-program and click on the "Appointment Records" button. Your appointment details will appear. From there, click the "Cancel the appointment" button. Once you do, you'll see a confirmation button appear. Click "Confirm" and you're done. Your appointment will be cancelled.

Aside from the fact that there aren't many locations and dates yet to choose from, the process is fairly quick and painless... at least until you go for the jab. In the short time that we've been watching this, there have been a few updates already so be sure to keep an eye on it if you don't find location or dates/times that suits you as they'll likely continually add more options.

How to prepare for your appointment

Once you've successfully booked your appointment, be sure to take your permanent residence ID card or passport with the valid residence permit with you when you go to the designated site at your appointment time for vaccination. Upon arrival, you'll be asked to follow certain procedures, including giving informed consent and informing medical staff of your personal health status. Medical personnel will then determine whether you meet the vaccination requirements to get vaccinated so be sure to pay close attention to your physical condition within 14 days of your appointment. If you feel unwell, consult a doctor.

Other questions

Aside from the questions already answered above, a few others we received about the vaccine include:

• What are the possible risks and side-effects?

• Does the 6 months of vaccine validity start from the day of the 1st shot or the second one?
  

• Can I return to China without quarantine if I travel out of China after receiving the vaccine?

• Can I travel to Hong Kong and return without quarantine once I get the vaccine?

For answers to questions regarding the vaccine itself, we recommend visiting the frequently asked questions part of this article published by China Daily (qr code below). It's packed full of up-to-date answers.

Regarding traveling to Hong Kong and being able to return to mainland China without quarantine, see this recent article about the International Travel Health Certificate. We haven't seen any new information on this subject since then. We are aware of some vaccinated travelers though who are reporting that they are still being required to show proof of negative nucleic acid tests and quarantine as of yet. Hopefully this will change soon.

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