More expats in China receive COVID-19 vaccines

CHONGQING - Usama Kalim, a 28-year-old doctoral student from Pakistan, felt relieved after he knew his brother in the home country had received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine supplied by China.

"I was inoculated in July. The university organized voluntary vaccination for students," said Usama Kalim from Southwest University in China's Chonqging municipality.

"We brothers have both administered Chinese vaccines although we are in different countries," he said. Usama Kalim is also a young director and has made many documentaries about China.

Recently, a batch of COVID-19 vaccines provided by China through the COVAX facility has arrived in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

"The assistance of Chinese vaccines is a 'timely rain' for the Pakistani people," he said.

Sarata Keira, a Guinean student who has been studying at Southwest University for two years, said that she feels quite good after she was vaccinated recently.

"Guinea and China have close cooperation. As the COVID-19 pandemic is still raging worldwide, China has extended a helping hand to my motherland, which was very helpful to us," Sarata Keira said.

Like Usama Kalim and Sarata Keira, up to now, 50 percent of the overseas students in the university have been vaccinated, said Liu Meng, Party chief of the university's International College.

In order to protect foreigners working, living and studying in China and build an effective immune barrier to the greatest extent, China has included the eligible age group among foreigners in the country into the scope of inoculation with domestic vaccines.

According to a recent report by the People's Daily, more than 350,000 expatriates have been vaccinated with more than 600,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in China.

As of Aug 4, China had provided 770 million doses of vaccines to more than 100 countries and international organizations, ranking first in the world.

As the recent resurgence of the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant has caused a surging number of infections worldwide, Usama Kalim said the international community should put aside prejudice, make concerted efforts, and strengthen cooperation to overcome the pandemic at an early date.