People who are “not eligible” for vaccination will be exempt from the requirement, the official added, without specifying how they can provide proof of exemption. It also remains unclear how people vaccinated abroad can meet the requirement. China’s health code systems — which are used to prove vaccination — do not currently recognize foreign vaccines, and those vaccinated abroad have been unable to register their vaccinations. Places that have limited capacity or where reservations are required are required to give priority entry to vaccinated customers. Seniors who visit places that offer senior-specific activities, such as recreation centers and game rooms, should be vaccinated as soon as possible, the official said. The vaccine order comes as Beijing reported three cases of the BA.5.2 Omicron subvariant, which is highly contagious and able to evade antibodies. An outbreak of the new minor variant has already shut down the northwestern city of Xi’an, where entertainment, sports and religious venues are closed — and restaurants are limited to takeaway and delivery services — until next Wednesday.
Delay in vaccination rate of elderly
China remains an outlier on its ongoing zero-Covid approach, which has seen cities across the country – including Beijing and Shanghai – put into full or partial lockdown recently. The strategy – which relies on mass testing, quarantine and emergency lockdowns to stamp out any resurgence of the virus – has devastated economic activity. Chinese authorities have stepped up efforts to boost vaccination rates, especially among the elderly, after Omicron caused back-to-back outbreaks this year. In Beijing, residents are already required to show proof of a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours to enter all public spaces. The city has also required people working in outbreak prevention and control, health care, public transportation, delivery and other higher-risk sectors to be fully vaccinated. As of January, 98 percent of Beijing’s more than 20 million residents have been fully vaccinated, including 12 million people who have received a booster shot, according to a government statement. But the vaccination rate among the elderly is lower. As of April, 80 percent of Beijing residents over the age of 60 had been vaccinated, state news agency Xinhua reported. On Chinese social media, users were quick to point out that Beijing’s mandate for the vaccine appeared to contradict national health authorities’ directives that vaccination should be voluntary. “When did voluntary vaccination become mandatory?” a comment on Weibo, the Chinese Twitter-like platform. Last September, the National Health Commission said it was wrong for local governments to impose restrictions on the movement of unvaccinated people in order to speed up the vaccination campaign — and that such policies should be corrected in time. “Covid-19 vaccination should be based on the principles of informed consent and (be) voluntary,” Wu Liangyou, deputy head of the committee, told a news conference.
