Instead of requiring vaccination, Beijing residents can now enter all public venues with a negative Covid test result taken less than 72 hours prior and a temperature check, a city official told state media, adding that the government would continue to promote vaccination on a voluntary informed-consent basis.
Set to take effect on July 11, the policy would have barred the unvaxxed from theaters, museums, cinemas, gyms, training and tutoring locations, while medical staff, community service employees, home furnishing operators, express delivery providers, and conference attendees would not only have to get the shot but also receive a booster to continue in their jobs.
While Li Ang of the Beijing Municipal Health Commission insisted there would be exceptions for those who don't qualify for vaccination, many other countries whose governments initially promised similar exceptions failed to deliver. Nor would the mandate have gotten rid of the city's testing rules, which require residents to be tested at least once every three days to enter public spaces.
Residents openly questioned the vaccine's effectiveness against the Omicron variant on social media and denounced the proposed mandate as an illegal limitation on their freedom. A study conducted in Denmark showed both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines displayed a negative effectiveness against the Omicron variant just three months after being vaccinated, though the scientists did not test any of the Chinese Covid-19 vaccine formulas.
Former Global Times editor Hu Xijin noted on his official Weibo account after the rollback was announced:
"The reversal shows the power of public opinions. Chinese society is dominated by government," they "backed up in the face of a public pushback. That means they accept the public's view of the vaccine mandate as illegal."While 90% of China's population are reportedly fully vaccinated, the mandate was partially intended to push older residents to get their shots - Beijing's elderly vaccination rate is above 80%, but the continued reluctance of the remaining holdouts has irritated those who blame the unjabbed seniors for lockdowns and other inconvenient policies associated with the country's zero-Covid strategy.
Reader Comments
zero tolerance for a virus, or anything else for that matter, is a dead manโs game. Zero tolerance is audacious and destined to fail. DUH
Anyhow, seems Tokyo made a better choice, and really who wants to be endlessly monitored. Not I
Japan and China - they got a long history of both fighting and talkin cross the table. Which is better?
its these sheeple that went out an got a 3rd shot, then a booster, believing these nazi freakin evil scum of the earth shit head politicians,
they bow when told to, kneel when told too, ffs, these politicians has the saline sollution, i know R N nurses on those teams that staged that for those shit head pollies, all were given fukn saline shots, ALL TO DUPE THE MASS THE VOTERS TO GET THE EXPERIMENTAL FUKN VAX FFS!! cos hunt the kunt has a brother in pharma, he needs to collect the mass millions to vax the population, that hunt fam needs to be exterminated asap, just like that, they have done to thousands, in australia believing the bullshit
what part of stupid and gullible dont these fukn people understand.. Hunt, greg an fam, need to be hanged, asap any lamp post neer by will do, that family have killed thousands, and denied future babys to be born, in time you all shall see, hunt that kunt an fam!!
and Jesus wept, fukn oath he did.. for the stupid an gullible.. ffs..
its these sheeple that went out an got a 3rd shot, then a booster, believing these nazi freakin evil scum of the earth shit head politicians,
they bow when told to, kneel when told too, ffs, these politicians has the saline sollution, i know R N nurses on those teams that staged that for those shit head pollies, all were given fukn saline shots, ALL TO DUPE THE MASS THE VOTERS TO GET THE EXPERIMENTAL FUKN VAX FFS!! cos hunt the kunt has a brother in pharma, he needs to collect the mass millions to vax the population, that hunt fam needs to be exterminated asap, just like that, they have done to thousands, in australia believing the bullshit
what part of stupid and gullible dont these fukn people understand.. Hunt, greg an fam, need to be hanged, asap any lamp post neer by will do, that family have killed thousands, and denied future babys to be born, in time you all shall see, hunt that kunt an fam!!
and Jesus wept, fukn oath he did.. for the stupid an gullible.. ffs..
mcgowen the clown, another liberal fuknut, like its boyyo new pm, both will hang, asa fukn P..
these vaxes have killed over a million, future wise, unborn, dieing on the table of birth..
planet depop under way, these fukheds knew it, they are apart of that program..
pple of the earth unite, time to collect, collect due respect, and truth, gather the rope, gather the lamp posts..