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Booster shot rollout begins in cities of Heilongjiang
Updated: Oct 14, 2021
chinadaily.com.cn
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Starting in October, some cities in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province have begun offering COVID-19 booster shots to targeted groups to strengthen their immunity to the virus, Heilongjiang Daily reported.
The third vaccine doses will be made available for people aged over 18 who have already been fully vaccinated for at least six months, according to local governments of the cities including Harbin, Qiqihar, Jiamusi, Mudanjiang, Jixi and Heihe.
People intending to get an additional shot will be given the same vaccine made by the same company. If supplies of a particular vaccine run short, other vaccines of the same type but created by a different company can be used as an alternative, local authorities said.
Harbin, the province's capital city, started to carry out the work on Sunday.
"Everything is in order during these days' vaccination service at our center," said Liang Guangyun, director of the Kang'an Community Health Center in Daoli district. "We prepared enough storage of vaccines and residents can come to the center directly to get vaccinated."
"When I got the news of the rollout of booster shots in Harbin, I immediately came to the nearest health community center to get a third shot," said a 39-year-old taxi driver surnamed Zhao. "Due to frequent interactions with different passengers, I hope to build stronger immunity against the virus, to protect myself as well as make my passengers feel more secure."
Since mid-September, Tianjin and several cities in the provinces of Fujian, Hainan, Guangdong, Anhui, Hubei and Heilongjiang have announced rollouts of booster shots.
As of Sunday, 40,771 people in Hubei had received an additional shot, China News Service reported on Wednesday.
Key groups in the provincial city Wuhan have been prioritized during the initial stage, such as workers at the Jinyintan Hospital and the airport.
Nationwide, China had administered more than 2.22 billion doses as of Tuesday, according to the National Health Commission.
