SHENZHEN has started offering free COVID-19 booster shots to its citizens, the Shenzhen Municipal Health Commission announced Friday.
Citizens aged 18 and older who received their primary COVID-19 vaccines, either a two-dose inactivated vaccine series or a single dose adenovirus-based viral vector vaccine, are eligible for the additional shot, at least six months after completing the full course of vaccines.
Eligible vaccine recipients can make online reservations via WeChat accounts "深圳卫健委" (szwjwwx), "深圳疾控" (szcdcepi), "健康深圳" (jkshenzhen), or the WeChat miniprogram "社康通" (shekangtong).
The commission recommended booster shots especially for those who work in high-risk areas including airports, ports, border checkpoints, quarantine sites and hospitals, people aged 60 and older, as well as those who need to travel overseas to high-risk areas and countries due to work, study and exchanges.
Other eligible vaccine recipients are also encouraged to receive the booster shots, said the city's health authority, which noted that currently, vaccines from Sinopharm, Sinovac or CanSino can be used to strengthen protection against COVID-19.
"It is suggested that citizens choose the same type of COVID-19 vaccine when receiving the booster shots," said Huang Fang, an immunization expert from the Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
"If the two doses in the primary vaccine series are different, choose the same kind as the second dose for vaccination as much as possible," Huang added.
The Shenzhen CDC also reminded that a flu shot and a COVID-19 vaccine dose cannot be inoculated at the same time, and the two kinds of vaccines need to be administered 14 days apart.
During a visit to Shenzhen People's Hospital on Nov. 5, Zhong Nanshan, a prominent Chinese respiratory disease expert, stated that it is extremely necessary for citizens to receive the booster shot.
According to Zhong, the booster shot is required to prevent infection and disease aggravation, with the vaccination of the elderly being the most crucial at this time.
Vaccination rates for children aged 3-11 years are currently good, but vaccination rates for the elderly group are relatively low, according to Zhong. The elderly is the most vulnerable to infection, and vaccination rates for this group must be increased as COVID-19 will be more active in the winter.
