‘It Doesn’t Hurt at All’: In China’s New Covid Strategy, Vaccines Matter

Many families urged their older relatives to stay home, thinking the inoculations might complicate chronic health conditions. Temporary vaccination clinics were reluctant to give older people a shot, since the facilities didn’t have their health records on hand. Neighborhood health workers and family members alike asked whether it was worth risking potential side effects when cases were essentially nonexistent in many cities.

Nicolas Tian, 24, urged his grandparents not to get vaccinated, citing concern over authorities restricting the doses to younger populations.

“In the beginning, people generally thought that people older than 60 years old were not suitable candidates for vaccination,” said Mr. Tian, who lives in the northeastern province of Shandong. He got vaccinated, but only because his government job required it.

Many public-sector workers were among the first groups to get vaccinated at a time when doses were still limited. While his employer called it a perk, Mr. Tian wasn’t convinced.

“We all knew it was treating us like lab rats, or at least I personally took it that way,” he said.

When his workplace later recommended that each employee find five people to get inoculated, he felt authorities had changed the requirements in a rush to boost the vaccination rate. He strongly discouraged family members from getting the shot.

“Although authorities said there was no harm in getting vaccinated, the popular thinking was that, ‘it is better not to have elderly people vaccinated.’”

Since approving Chinese vaccines, officials have provided little information other than to assure the public that they are safe.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/12/business/china-covid-zero-vaccines.html