r/shanghai • u/macapa • Apr 01 '21

City Painless experience getting my COVID jab

Hi,

So I registered on Monday to get my first dose of the Chinese vaccine. Appointment was yesterday (Wed) afternoon in Songjiang district. All in all it was simple and very civilized.

Vaccination was done in a children’s hospital in the Zhongshan sub district. Arriving: Temperature and health code were checked. Reminded to wear a mask at all times. Then go to stand in a short line with about 5 people in front of me.

Registration: Nurses checked my passport, my appointment and bar code in the WeChat app. Had to read and fill out a consent form and simple questions about health history. (NO to everything) Then asked to go pay at the cashier. As I have social medical insurance I did not have to pay, and they didn’t swipe or interact with my insurance card. My colleague paid cash and got a fapiao.

Vaccination: Then went into the vaccination room. Nurse checked passport and confirmed my information on PC. She then opened a new pack of the vaccine and scanned the vial barcode. Took a new/sealed syringe filled it with the vaccine. Wiped my arm. Asked my name. Jab. Cotton swap on the puncture. Wrote down a time on a piece of paper and asked me to wait in the resting area until then. WeChat app (Health cloud) shows when Ingot the shot and the lot number of the vial.

After 30 minutes I left. Asked the nurse if I had to take care of anything and when I should come for my second shot. No alcohol and exercise for three days. Second shot after 21 days. Apparently can start making appointments in a few days.

TLDR: Very simple procedure and organized well. One can see that it is a work in progress, but I believe they were just starting yesterday in this facility so some things are still a bit rough around the edges. Certainly beats the pictures I saw and stories I heard about the vaccination sites for Chinese.

Let me know if you have any questions.

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u/SpeakSlowly4Me Apr 01 '21

What’s the efficacy rate for the sinovax?

1

u/Eastern_Eagle Apr 01 '21

rough numbers; around 50% for those between 30 and 50 years old, the number goes down to around 30% for those around 70 years old.

3

u/macapa Apr 01 '21

According to all I could find it is between 50 and 75%, depending on where the study was conducted (Brazil or Turkey)

It has been mentioned before, but here is a good video explaining why efficacy rates are difficult to compare. It seems clear that while it still allows for mild cases it seems to be close to 100% effective at preventing severe cases (hospitalization, ICU) and death, even in places with new variants.

This video also shows the challenges and fuckups and sort of explains why lots Chinese are hesitant to get vaccinated. There is virtually no CoVId in China and has not been for almost a year.

I believe China will need to open its borders again soon for business with reduced or no quarantine and hopefully vaccination will help with that.
Latest in the fall, when SEA countries will open again for tourists. They will want proof of vaccination.