Mainland Chinese eager to get Western messenger RNA vaccines instead of domestically made vaccines are flocking to Macau, where they have crowded the only hospital that offers these drugs to tourists.
Beijing has not approved any foreign Covid-19 immunizations for use on its citizens. Instead, it uses those manufactured by the Chinese groups Sinovac and Sinopharm. Analysts say these products provide lower levels of immunity than Western alternatives, which use technology known as mRNA.
But an abrupt reversal by Beijing this month from its long-standing Covid-zero policy has sparked an explosion in cases and a surge in the number of mainland Chinese seeking mRNA vaccines in Macau. The former Portuguese colony and special administrative region is the only place outside mainland China that citizens of the country can go without having to quarantine upon their return.
Vaccinations were quickly sold out as the outbreak in China spiraled out of control. In October, Ivy, 27, a resident of Dongguan across the border in mainland China, received her first dose of mRNA at the University of Macau Science and Technology Hospital, the only place that administers vaccines to paying tourists.
Last week, she went back for another dose, but found that vaccination schedules were fully booked through the end of December.
A customer service worker at the Macau hospital said his phone had been ringing “non-stop” since the outbreak began to gain momentum in China in early December. He also noted, however, that there had been an increase in customers canceling appointments after catching the virus.
China’s uneven vaccination coverage has laid the groundwork for the chaos gripping its medical system as hospitals have been overwhelmed with sick patients following the end of the Covid-zero policy, according to analysts.
About 85 million people — a third of China’s 267 million citizens aged 60 and over — have not received a third dose of vaccine needed for a high level of protection against the omicron variant of the coronavirus. Among those age 80 and older, that rate is around 60%, or 21 million people.
Beijing has pledged to devote more resources to filling gaps in vaccine coverage.
But Yanzhong Huang, senior global health researcher at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said such efforts may come “too late”.
“Booster campaigns take three to four months to complete. At this stage, this virus wave will have peaked.”
The rise of “vaccine tourism” was being driven by “wealthy” mainland residents with access to scientific studies comparing the effectiveness of vaccines, says Nicholas Thomas, an associate professor at the City University of Hong Kong who specializes in Chinese foreign policy and health security. in Asia.
A Singapore study published this month in the Lancet found that subjects who received three doses of Sinovac or Sinopharm — based on older technology, which uses inactivated virus to provoke an immune response — were almost twice as likely to develop severe Covid as people who received three doses of mRNA. Those with the Chinese injections were also 50% more likely to be hospitalized.
Macau’s vaccine tourism business quickly gave rise to intermediaries who charge fees to organize travel and other logistics. Viola, a Macau-based insurance agent, told the Financial Times that she charges US$60 to arrange vaccination sessions for her mainland clients.
A 27-year-old management consultant, who gave his name only as Wan, and his wife each paid $170 (£250) for a dose of the mRNA vaccine after deciding not to be immunized with at-home alternatives.
The adviser said the couple were concerned about the effectiveness of Chinese vaccines and the “lack of transparency about trial data”.
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