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Covid-19 vaccines may give you antibodies that prevent you entering China
- China requires inbound air passengers to test negative for a viral antibody as well as for Covid-19 – but some have acquired that antibody from a vaccine
- Travellers, who must get clearance from Chinese embassies before boarding flights, say they face uncertainty
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When 26-year-old Peter Zhou graduated from medical school in New York and wished to return to Shanghai last month, he was faced with a dilemma: the antibody protection he received from a Covid-19 vaccine jab might be the very reason he could not go home.
In November, China started to insist inbound passengers produce evidence of testing negative for the antibody immunoglobulin M (IgM) – usually the first type of antibody produced against virus infection – along with a negative Covid-19 test taken within 48 hours before boarding.
Chinese embassies in the departure country assess this documentation and, if satisfied, issue a green health code via a mobile app to clear the way to board a flight.
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Zhou took the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine early last month and planned to fly to China from Dallas two weeks later. He filed his positive IgM antibody test result to a Chinese embassy in the US together with a document proving he had taken his first vaccine dose, hoping it would be taken into consideration. He did not receive the green code.
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“I had to return to my … flat. I spent about US$800 on testing, hotel accommodation and air tickets in vain,” Zhou said.
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