Mainland Chinese vaccine tourists flock to Macau for mRNA Covid jabs
Mainland Chinese eager to secure western messenger RNA vaccines rather than domestic jabs are flocking to Macau, where they have booked out the only hospital offering the inoculations to tourists.
Beijing has not approved any foreign Covid-19 vaccines for use by its citizens, instead relying on jabs from Chinese groups Sinovac and Sinopharm. Analysts have said these provide lower levels of immunity than western alternatives, which use mRNA technology.
But an abrupt U-turn by Beijing this month on its former zero-Covid policy of containing the disease has sparked an explosion of cases and prompted a surge in the number of mainlanders seeking mRNA jabs in Macau. The former Portuguese colony and special administrative region is the only place outside mainland China where the country‘s citizens can travel without having to quarantine on return.
The brisk business of vaccine tourism in Macau has quickly given rise to middlemen who charge fees to arrange travel and other logistics. Viola, a Macau-based insurance agent, told the Financial Times that she charged $60 to arrange vaccination sessions for her mainland clients.
One 27-year-old management consultant, who identified himself only as Wan, and his wife paid $170 each for one dose of the mRNA vaccine after deciding against being injected with domestic alternatives.
The consultant said the couple had concerns about the efficacy of Chinese vaccines and a “lack of transparency over the trial data”.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Gloria Li
