Beijing, China

China on Thursday (December 22) announced that it is making arrangements for German expatriates to receive the BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. This comes after Germany said that it has sent a batch of mRNA vaccines to China. During German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit to Beijing, a deal was reached between the two nations under which China agreed to allow German nationals in China to receive the mRNA vaccine.

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As per Reuters, Scholz's also urged Beijing to allow Chinese citizens and other foreign nationals to avail the shot. However, initially, the vaccines will be administered to German expatriates.

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The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that it is "supporting China to focus its efforts on vaccinating people at the highest risk across the country, and we continue to offer our support for clinical care and protecting its health system".

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Up till now, China has only allowed its own vaccines for the general public. Vaccinations developed overseas are not available and only inactivated shots of Sinopharm, Sinovac's Coronavac and other domestically developed options are available. 

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These would be the first mRNA vaccines available in China. mRNA vaccines are generally considered to be the most efficient against the deadly virus.

Faced with a huge surge in cases following its easing of stringent zero-Covid restrictions, cities in China have also begun distributing free fever and cold drugs to the public, in order to deal with a spike in demand for the medicines.

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As per Global Times, the market regulator in Sanya, South China's Hainan Province has distributed 73,030 fever medicines to local residents with plans to distribute more. Dongguan in South China's Guangdong Province will be distributing 100,000 ibuprofen tablets.  Zhengzhou, Shangqiu, Zhoukou and a number of other cities have also handed out anti-epidemic drugs.

(With inputs from agencies)

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