German expats in China get first foreign vaccines

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STORY: Under an agreement reached during a visit to Beijing by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in November, Germans aged 12 and older may receive their first dose or a booster of the BioNTech vaccine at a designated international hospital in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Guangzhou or Chengdu.

More than 8,000 doses of the BioNTech vaccine, which was developed with Pfizer and is being distributed under COMIRNATY branding, have been shipped to China and more than 1,500 people have registered their interest, Germany's foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

About 14,000 German nationals live in China, according to the embassy.

China has so far insisted on using only domestically produced vaccines, shunning Western-made vaccines that use newer mRNA technology.