Expat Kids Still Waiting as Teen Vaccine Rollout Continues

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Beijing began administering vaccines to 12- to 14-year-olds yesterday, the next step in an effort to get all those above the age of 11 vaccinated – but so far foreign passport holders are not eligible for the jab.

Earlier this year Beijing cleared vaccines for use in 12- to 17-year-olds and began administering to kids aged 15, 16, and 17 on July 20. Over half a million teens have already gotten the first shot, and this group is now beginning to receive their second dose.

While expat children are currently ineligible to receive the vaccine, expectations are that eventually it will be offered to them, similar to how the vaccine was rolled out to adults in Beijing. Local adults began getting the jab in December 2020, and foreign citizens were given access about three months later.

International school administrators contacted for this story say they have not yet been informed when foreign students will be eligible, but that they are already arranging shots for their local passport-holding students.

As with adults, the shots given will be the Chinese-made Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines. Neither patients nor vaccine administrators have a choice in which one is given; it’s simply a case of which of the two vaccines is available at the time.

According to reports in The Global Times, both the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines have been administered to children as young as 3 in clinical trials held earlier this year. The vaccines were well-tolerated and resulted in the presence of antibodies, reports indicate.

As with adults, vaccination for teens at this point is not mandatory but is strongly encouraged.

Children currently in school over the summer will have their vaccinations arranged by school authorities, while those not in school will get access via their residential communities.

According to data from the Beijing Municipal Government Information Office, 94% of Beijing's 18+ population is already fully inoculated against Covid-19. Informal polls in the 5,000-strong WeChat-based Safe & Sane communities show that the rate of vaccination amongst Beijing's over-18 foreigners is not far behind, with an estimated 83% fully vaccinated and another 6% having received at least one of the two shots.

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