A Chinese citizen gets vaccinated with Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in Ethiopia. /Xinhua
On March 7, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a press conference that China would launch a "spring sprout" vaccination program to help and secure COVID-19 vaccines for its citizens abroad.
As of now, one month has passed. What's been achieved so far?
According to a notice on the Chinese Foreign Ministry's WeChat account on April 2, over 200,000 Chinese citizens abroad had been given the COVID-19 vaccine since the initial announcement.
As of now, countries including Egypt, Cambodia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Serbia, Lebanon, Montenegro, Hungary, Belarus, Antigua and Barbuda, Namibia, Zimbabwe, DR Congo, Sudan, Angola, Benin and Sierra Leone have rolled out the campaign, offering Chinese COVID-19 vaccines to overseas Chinese.
Chinese embassies in many countries notified local Chinese to pay close attention to the vaccination program, as well as host countries' vaccination policies, as some countries like the U.S., UK, Brazil and France are providing free COVID-19 vaccines for people of other nationalities.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, over 60 countries had included Chinese nationals in their vaccination lists by March 11, with or without Chinese embassies' notice on the vaccination program.
Chinese citizens are inoculated with Chinese COVID-19 vaccines in Zimbabwe. /Xinhua
On March 10, the Chinese Embassy in Egypt announced that with the efforts of the two sides, the Egyptian government has officially included Chinese citizens in its local vaccination system. And five days later, the embassy launched its vaccination program in the country, inoculating more than 5,800 Chinese citizens with Chinese-made Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines.
On March 26 and 27, hospitals in Namibia and Zimbabwe successively launched the program, and as of April 7, all 1, 800 Chinese in the country have got the first Sinopharm COVID-19 jab and over 1,000 Chinese citizens have been vaccinated in Zimbabwe.
CGTN found out that the Democratic People's Republic of Congo government on March 29 also released a notice, announcing that all legal Chinese citizens have been included into the local vaccination system and a Chinese medical team in the DR Congo is helping with the vaccination work.
A Chinese citizen obtains vaccination certificate in Antigua and Barbuda. /Xinhua
Some Asian countries and European countries have also cooperated with the Chinese government to help inoculate Chinese people.
Countries like Cambodia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Lebanon have launched their part of the "spring sprout vaccine" program. In Sri Lanka, four vaccination spots have been set up to provide Chinese vaccines and as of April 6, over 2,469 Chinese have been vaccinated.
In Lebanon, the Chinese embassy issued a notice on April 7, informing Chinese citizens to sign up for Sinopharm vaccines, with two doses for each citizen over the age of 18. The deadline for registration is April 13.
In Cambodia, the vaccination program officially started on April 10. The vaccination plan in Cambodia aims to inoculate around 10,000 people, including registered employees of member enterprises of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan in Cambodia. The vaccination work was conducted by local authorities, and assisted by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia. People who want to get vaccinated have to register to make reservations on a mini program developed by Huawei and managed by the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic receives an injection of China's Sinopharm vaccine against COVID-19 in Majdanpek, Serbia, April 6, 2021. /Xinhua
In Serbia, some Chinese had gotten vaccinated in January without the introduction of the "spring sprout" program soon after the country received Chinese COVID-19 vaccines. As the vaccination program continues, over 80 percent of Chinese have got vaccinated by far.
Chinese embassies in various countries have led the efforts to vaccinate citizens abroad.
In countries that have not taken part in the implementation of the "spring sprout" vaccination program, or approved any use of China-made vaccine, the embassies have made sure that Chinese nationals are still included in those countries' national vaccination drives.