Where (and When) to Get Your Fourth Covid Vaccine Booster in Beijing

As of last week, booster shots for Covid-19 are available for foreigners in Beijing.

This follows announcements last week of boosters being made available for individuals with underlying conditions and the elderly, but since then a few places have started offering shots for foreign residents of Beijing as well.

Thus far, three clinics are offering fourth booster services for foreigners. They include New Century Harmony Pediatric Clinic and the nearby New Century Riverville Clinic in Shunyi, and Raffles Hospital Beijing in Chaoyang.

For other districts you can check 北京本地宝 Běijīng běndì bǎo WeChat account by following and typing in the district you reside in followed by 第四针 dì sì zhēn to find locations in the area doing boosters.

Currently, both New Century locations charge RMB 93.50 for a shot for those not carrying Beijing social insurance cards. Their Harmony clinic is offering only Sinopharm jabs, whereas their Riverview clinic offers both Sinopharm and Sinovac plus the inhaled vaccine. Raffles, on the other hand, only charges RMB 93.50 for diplomatic passport holders and is offering either inhaled or normal vaccines -- Sinopharm or Sinovac inactivated.

While getting a jab is pretty simple (just go to the place you went previously to get a fourth shot), there’s a bit of a caveat this time around. If you’ve been infected with Covid already, there’s no need to get a booster for at least six months.

The reasoning behind the six month wait for those who have been infected with Covid already is because, if you’ve been infected, your body has the necessary antibodies to keep another infection at bay.

This advice is echoed by local Beijing media, with a report from Beijing Daily saying those who have already been infected are low risk for further infection for half a year.

Do you plan on getting a fourth booster jab? Let us know in the comments!

To register for boosters at the New Century clinic, call 6456-2599 (Harmony) or 5093-5777 (Riverville). To register for boosters through Raffles, simply go to their official WeChat account (ID: RafflesHospital_BJ) and find the Covid-19 vaccine registration page.

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