Colleges in capital getting their shots

Beijing has centers for foreigners in all 16 districts, with elderly also a priority

More than 84.8 percent of college students in Beijing had received novel coronavirus vaccinations by March 12.

The capital has been providing vaccination to all residents－including foreigners－since the beginning of the year and the municipal government said shots had been given to more than 12 million people by Monday morning, with around 19.1 million doses administered.

The city has a population of more than 21 million. More than 7.14 million people have received two doses, while the rest have received their first. People who have taken both doses are considered to have completed the vaccination process.

College students from across the nation returned to campuses in March. Beijing launched a mass vaccination effort on March 27 for college students at 19 colleges in Haidian district, where most of the city's universities and colleges are located.

By Monday, 854,000 staff members and students at 93 colleges in Beijing had been vaccinated. At 22 colleges, more than 90 percent of students had received shots.

To reduce infection risks, the health authorities sent vaccination teams to colleges.

Chen Xingliang, a teacher at Peking University Law School, said he didn't feel any discomfort after receiving the vaccine.

"The medical staff have been very patient in answering our inquires," he said.

China Agricultural University said that in addition to Chinese staff members and students, about 70 foreign teachers and students received vaccinations on Friday.

In Beijing, foreigners can also apply to get vaccinated on their own.

Yuriy Kudelya, a Ukrainian who works near the Huilongguan area, said he made a reservation online and then went to a vaccination center.

"It feels good to be vaccinated," he said.

Beijing has set up vaccination centers for foreigners in all 16 districts.

It started vaccinating nine key groups of individuals on Jan 1 and then began immunizing the general public.

After mass vaccinations for people aged between 18 and 60, the authorities began vaccinating senior citizens. By Monday, more than 1.16 million people aged 60 or older had been vaccinated. Of those, 1,335 were above age 90. The oldest person vaccinated in Beijing was over 100, the government said.