Zhang Yu， Han Ximin

JeniZhang13＠163．com

SHENZHEN officially began a COVID－19 vaccination program for Taiwan compatriots living in the city Thursday．

Starting from10 a．m． Thursday， compatriots from Hong Kong， Macao and Taiwan as well as foreigners residing in Shenzhen are all able to schedule a COVID－19 vaccine appointment through“jkshenzhen” （健康深圳）， a service platform operated by the Shenzhen Municipal Health Commission WeChat account．

The city has also increased the number of designated vaccination sites for these groups of people from seven to eight． The newly added vaccination site is Longhua Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital．

The COVID－19 vaccination sites across the city will remain open during the May Day holiday that lasts from May1 to5， the commission said at a news conference organized by the Shenzhen Municipal Government Information Office at the Civic Center on Thursday．

Residents from Taiwan who are aged18－59， and some aged60 and above who are in good health and need the vaccine for special reasons， can get inoculated for free on a voluntary basis in Shenzhen．

Teachers and students from Taiwan working or studying in the city， like their mainland peers， will get the COVID－19 vaccine as organized by their schools．

To get vaccinated， Taiwan compatriots are required to make a reservation online first， whether it being a group appointment or a personal appointment． A phone reservation is only acceptable at the designated vaccination sites if an online reservation fails． In principle， vaccination service is not provided for those without an appointment． The group appointment service is open to all kinds of enterprises and institutions in Shenzhen， as well as Taiwan Merchant Association Shenzhen and its affiliated fellowship associations．  

Taiwan residents without mainland residence permits or are not covered by the mainland medical insurance program can submit an application to the district－level Taiwan affairs office． The office will then make an online reservation and organize the group to receive the vaccine shots in designated sites．

Taiwan compatriots can also apply to the Taiwan Merchant Association Shenzhen， which will contact the district－level Taiwan affairs office on their behalf．

The city’s health commission reminds that teachers and students from Taiwan need to carry their teacher’s or student’s ID cards to the vaccination sites．

Other eligible vaccine recipients from Taiwan must provide either their mainland residence permits issued by public security authorities or proof of enrollment in the mainland medical insurance program （if available）． Those without residence permits or medical insurance proof should present their mainland travel permits．

According to the commission， the group appointment service is also applicable to foreigners as well as Hong Kong and Macao residents．

The group reservation for compatriots from Hong Kong and Macao needs to be organized by enterprises and institutions， chambers of commerce and other social organizations in Shenzhen， while that for foreigners should be arranged by enterprises， institutions and chambers of commerce in the city．

Shenzhen has opened a total of601 vaccination sites for the public to receive vaccine shots， according to Chang Juping， deputy director with the commission．

By Wednesday，3．915 million people in Shenzhen had been vaccinated with4．71 million doses administered．  

Chang advised vaccine recipients should complete the second shot within three to eight weeks after the first shot． Those who couldn’t get the second shot within the required time for reasons like vaccine supply shortages or business trips should take their second shot as soon as possible， without necessarily restarting the immunity process．  

“For the second vaccination， the residents can use the same type of vaccines produced by different manufacturers if they fail to find the type made by the same manufacturers，” Chang said．