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(FILES) This file illustration picture taken on November 24, 2020 shows a bottle reading “Vaccine COVID-19” and a syringe next to the Pfizer and BioNtech logos. - Mexico will receive the first vaccines against COVID-19, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, on December 23, 2020, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard announced on December 22. (Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP)

Coronavirus: Beijing permits German residents in China to use BioNTech’s mRNA vaccine

  • The move, expected since German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s trip to Beijing, follows Berlin’s clearance of Sinovac vaccine for Chinese living in Germany
  • China has not yet granted regulatory approval to any foreign-made Covid-19 vaccines for widespread use on the mainland

Beijing will allow BioNTech’s mRNA vaccine in mainland China but limit its use to German nationals, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

“China and Germany had reached an agreement on administering the German vaccine to German citizens residing in China, and the two sides will discuss the arrangements through diplomatic channels,” ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a news briefing in Beijing.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Grand Hall in Beijing on November 4. Photo: AFP via Getty Images/TNS

The decision had been expected since German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Beijing last month.

In a joint news conference then with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Scholz said that approval of the BioNTech vaccine for expatriates in China was on the agenda of their talks and that he was hoping the use could be expanded across mainland China.

Friday’s announcement came two days after German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach issued a permit allowing China’s Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine to be imported and given to Chinese citizens in Germany.

Mao said that Beijing welcomed the move by Berlin.

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First inhalable Covid-19 vaccine available across China

First inhalable Covid-19 vaccine available across China

Three years into the pandemic, China has not granted any regulatory approval to foreign-made Covid vaccines on the mainland. The German-developed BioNTech vaccine is no exception, even though it had a collaboration deal in 2020 with a Shanghai partner and has been widely used around the world – including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

BioNTech, a biotechnology company based in Mainz, Germany, has repeatedly said it hoped to have its mRNA vaccine used across China, but approval has been delayed due to the regulatory review process.

China has sought to develop its own version of an mRNA vaccine, but progress has been slow. A home-grown mRNA vaccine called AWcorna became available on the mainland at the end of 2021 but has not received regulatory approval.

China’s population, including many foreigners on the mainland, have been given traditional inactivated vaccines developed by Chinese companies, though some expatriates have been able to take BioNTech shots arranged by foreign embassies.

BioNTech’s logo at the vaccine manufacturer’s headquarters in Mainz, Germany. Photo: dpa

In recent days following widespread protests, Beijing has stepped back from its zero-Covid policy and adopted less stringent measures, putting greater emphasis on vaccination and improved healthcare service instead of lockdowns and mass testings.

However, by mid-October only about 57 per cent of the population had been given the latest booster dose; more than 90 per cent of the public had received earlier two-dose treatments.

It has been expected that if China allowed broader use of the BioNTech vaccine, it would be used as a booster shot.

Also on Friday, the National Health Commission (NHC) said that authorities were preparing medical resources for an increase of cases that is expected to come with the relaxation of zero-Covid policies.

China sets ambitious Covid-19 vaccination targets, officials say

China has 138,100 beds in intensive care units, or 10 beds per 100,000 people . There are 80,500 ICU doctors, with another 106,000 available to be “converted” from other departments, and 220,000 ICU nurses with 177,700 “convertibles”, according to Jiao Yahui, director of the NHC’s Department of Medical Administration.

The NHC has ordered public hospitals across the country to increase their ICU beds, upgrade their facilities and step up staff training “to have additional 20 to 30 per cent medical resources reserved for ICUs” if needed, said Jiao.

“All these expansions and renovations are required to be completed by the end of December,” Jiao said.

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