Berlin to send BioNTech vaccine doses for Germans in China

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) - The German government plans to have thousands of its citizens in China vaccinated with the BioNTech vaccine against coronavirus in the next few weeks, a chancellery spokesperson announced on Wednesday.

The first delivery is expected in Beijing on Wednesday, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said at a press briefing in Berlin.

The Chinese government informed the German government in a so-called verbal note that the BioNTech vaccine could be administered to Germans, Hebestreit added.

There is still no general approval for the vaccine from the German manufacturer in China.

According to Hebestreit, there are 20,000 Germans in China. The Asian country is being gripped again by a massive coronavirus wave after President Xi Jinping abandoned his “zero-COVID” policy and halted measures to stop the spread of the virus.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz had already received the go-ahead for the vaccination of foreigners living in China with BioNTech during his visit to Beijing at the beginning of November.

The approval has been granted only for Germans. They are working to ensure that foreigners of other nationalities can also be vaccinated with BioNTech in China, Hebestreit said.

In return, Chinese nationals in Germany could be vaccinated with the Chinese vaccine Sinovac, for which there is no general approval in Germany.