Mainlanders are reportedly rushing to Macau to get mRNA Covid-19 vaccines ahead of an expected new wave of the virus. This occurs amidst moves away from a zero-Covid policy.
It was only this month that China finally approved the mRNA vaccine for domestic use, a full two years after countries first began approving the Pfizer/BioNTech jab – however it is limited to Germans residing in the country.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, China has only been administering its homegrown inactivated virus vaccine.
Some countries view it as safer than the newer, less-proven technology used by some Western countries that targets the coronavirus’ spike protein, despite publicly available data supporting the safety of the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines. There is no such data for China’s vaccine.
With the easing of restrictions, Chinese mainland residents are reportedly getting their BioNTech’s vaccine in Macau.
Mainland media outlet Caixin has reported that a mainland tourist, Ni Lin (an alias), went to the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) hospital Saturday, the last day of his visit to Macau, to receive the mRNA vaccine, also known as Comirnaty.
He said more than 100 mainland tourists received the shot the same day, and many of them flew to Macau solely for that purpose, the report added.
An online platform that can be accessed from the MUST hospital website caters to those who want to travel to Macau for the mRNA vaccine.
The online platform with a “Trip of Health to Macau” link allows individuals to make an online appointment for the vaccine, with a HKD500 administrative fee for cancellations.
The price ranges from HKD1,360 to HKD1,650, the highest amount catering to those 61 to 70 years old.
Originally, local authorities said it did not provide vaccinations for people coming for short visits. However, starting Nov. 1, Macau expanded access to Comirnaty to nonlocal residents, including mainland tourists.
Ni already received two shots of domestically made vaccines based on the inactivated-virus technology. As he has underlying diseases, he chose to get Comirnaty in Macau to avoid severe illness if infected, Ni said, as cited in the report.
A staff member at the MUST hospital told Caixin that “the vaccine currently available to mainland tourists is for the original strain of Covid-19, and the bivalent vaccine targeting new variants, which was approved in November, is not currently available to mainland tourists.”
The staff reportedly added that the number of mainland tourists coming for vaccinations has increased dramatically – from a few people at the beginning to now more than 100 people a day.
According to the vaccination page, the appointment slots are fully booked until January 14.
The Times sought a comment from the Health Bureau on whether it is aware of the number of mainland residents rushing to get vaccinated in the city. The press has so far received no response.
