for-phone-onlyfor-tablet-portrait-upfor-tablet-landscape-upfor-desktop-upfor-wide-desktop-up

China to offer COVID-19 vaccine for foreign residents in Shanghai

FILE PHOTO: People wearing face masks walk on a street following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Shanghai, China January 26, 2021. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

(Corrects day in paragraph 1 to Tuesday (not Monday)

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Shanghai will offer COVID-19 vaccinations for foreign residents, local authorities announced late on Tuesday.

It marks the first time a city in China has made its vaccine available widely to non-Chinese citizens.

According to a public notice, beginning March 29 foreigners “of appropriate ages” may book appointments online to receive a domestically developed shot.

The procedure will cost people without insurance 100 yuan ($15.35).

Beijing this week began offering vaccines to foreign journalists and diplomats. The shots remain unavailable to most other non-Chinese residents in the city, however.

China has issued more than 74 million vaccine doses as of Saturday, a health commission spokesman said at a recent news briefing.

(This story corrects day in paragraph 1 to Tuesday not Monday)

Reporting by Josh Horwitz. Editing by Gerry Doyle

for-phone-onlyfor-tablet-portrait-upfor-tablet-landscape-upfor-desktop-upfor-wide-desktop-up