A man walks by a sign for the Cominarty mRNA vaccine, and the Sinovac vaccine, at a Covid-19 vaccination clinic inside an MTR Station in Hong Kong, January 2, 2023. Credit: Vernon Yuen via AP Images
After three years of COVID isolation, mainland Chinese residents are finally able to go abroad without having to quarantine when they get home. Many are using their first stops outside mainland borders to get injected with vaccines long available in much of the outside world.
Clinics in Hong Kong, which opened its borders for quarantine-free travel on Jan. 8, say they are at full capacity serving mainland tourists with mRNA booster shots produced by Germany’s BioNTech. The Hong Kong branch of China Citic Bank International, a Chinese state-owned bank, is even offering free mRNA COVID jabs for mainland Chinese customers if they deposit enough funds in the bank. In Macau, where mRNA boosters are also available, Chinese tourists have overwhelmed local hospitals and private clinics with vaccine appointments.
The rush for jabs is a direct result of mainland China remaining the world’s only major economy yet to approve mRNA vaccines, even though they offer better and longer lasting
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