Expat Teens Now Eligible for Covid Vaccine

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After a wait of several weeks, vaccines are underway for expatriate teens, Jingkids learned yesterday. As reported back in August, the capital had cleared vaccines for use in 12- to 17-year-old locals and began administering them to kids aged 14, 15, and 16 on Jul 20. Now, however, both local and foreign passport holding teens can make an appointment to get the jab for free.

In anticipation of what will surely be an influx of expat teens making appointments, Beijing United Family Hospital (BJU) has made their booking system straightforward and transparent. Currently, BJU's shots are only administered to those living or working in Chaoyang District at BJU's hospital in Lido and the two clinics in Jianwai Diplomatic Residence Compound and Guangqumen Clinic.

To begin your booking, call BJU at 400 891 9191 and follow the instructions in the automated messaging system to receive the following text message.

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The vaccine currently available for teens is the same as those for adults; either the Chinese-produced Sinopharm or Sinovac vaccines. While both are available, you will not be able to select which brand you get.

After you’ve successfully made your appointment, remember to bring your original passport or ID card, and children under the age of 14 need to bring their vaccine records and be accompanied by a parent. If parents cannot make the appointment, they must complete an Authorization Consent form in advance.

At the time of writing, Oasis International Hospital, Raffles Medical and New Century Children's Hospital were not yet offering the COVID-19 vaccine to expatriate kids above 12.

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

Images: Pexels, Mina Yan

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