- Batch of BioNTech Shots on the way to China
- German citizens are shot; Berlin is pushing for wider use
- The delivery follows Scholz’s visit to China last month
- Comes with a surge in infections in the world’s second largest economy
BERLIN, Dec. 21 (Portal) – Berlin has sent its first batch of BioNTech (22UAy.DE) COVID-19 vaccines to China, to be given initially to German expatriates, a German government spokesman said on Wednesday, the first foreign coronavirus vaccine delivered to the country.
No details were available on the timing and size of the shipment, although the spokesman said Berlin is pushing for foreigners other than German nationals, who are estimated to number around 20,000, to be given access to the recording if they wish.
The delivery comes after China agreed to allow German nationals in China following a deal during Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to Beijing last month that saw the German leader push for Beijing to make the recording freely available to Chinese citizens as well.
In a letter to German citizens in mainland China, the government announced it would offer basic immunizations and booster shots of vaccines approved for use in the European Union free of charge to anyone over the age of 12.
Family members of other nationalities would not be included. Vaccinations for children under 12 may follow at a later date.
“We are working on the possibility that, in addition to Germans, other foreigners can also be vaccinated with BioNTech,” said the spokesman to journalists in Berlin.
The shots will be delivered to German companies in China as well as embassy sites, and talks are ongoing with other EU governments about making them available to citizens of other nationalities, a source familiar with the situation said.
China would have to approve expanded access beyond German nationals, the source said.
In return, Chinese citizens in Europe can get vaccinated with China’s SinoVac (SVA.O), the spokesman said.
The comment follows a report earlier this month that Germany’s health ministry had granted permission to import China’s Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine into Germany to give to Chinese citizens there.
The shot has not been approved for use by the European Medicines Agency, but the World Health Organization has given the green light for its use.
Beijing has so far insisted on only using domestically-made vaccines, which are not based on Western mRNA technology but on more traditional technologies.
The delivery comes amid Beijing, which is easing its strict “zero-COVID” regime of lockdowns, which has prompted a spate of cases that have caught a fragile health system off guard.
Experts predict the country of 1.4 billion people could face more than a million COVID deaths next year.
Giving German expats access to a western reception is a big gesture to Berlin, reflecting Beijing’s efforts to strengthen ties with the EU’s largest economy after years of tensions between the two countries over trade and climate.
Shares of BioNTech rose on news of the delivery, closing 2.3% higher in Frankfurt, while shares of Pfizer in New York were up 1.25% in late morning New York trading.
BioNTech was not immediately available Wednesday to comment on the situation.
China is stuck between rising Covid-19 cases and deadlocked vaccination rates
NO WESTERN RECORDINGS
China has approved nine domestically developed COVID vaccines for use, more than any other country. But none have been updated to target the highly infectious Omicron variant like Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna (MRNA.O) have done for boosters in many developed countries.
The two shots developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are the most widely used worldwide.
Early in the pandemic, BioNTech struck a deal with Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (600196.SS) to ship the syringes to China.
While the recordings became available in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, regulatory review for mainland China has not yet been completed. BioNTech said the decision rests with Chinese regulators and has given no reason for the delay.
China’s zero-COVID policy and lockdown measures have kept death and infection rates minimal in recent months, but have caused massive disruption to both domestic and global trade and supply chains.
China uses a narrow definition of COVID deaths and reported no new deaths for Tuesday, even dropping one from its total since the pandemic began, now at 5,241 – a fraction of the toll of many much less populous countries.
The National Health Commission said Tuesday only deaths from pneumonia and respiratory failure in patients who had the virus are classified as COVID-related deaths.
Reporting by Thomas Escritt, Alexander Ratz and Christian Kraemer; additional reporting from Danilo Masoni in Milan and Amanda Cooper in London; writing by Miranda Murray; Adaptation by Josephine Mason and David Evans
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Thomas Escrit