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mengjue · 1 year

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What's Happening in China? The November 2022 Protests

Hello! I know that there's so much going on in the world right now, so not everyone may be aware of what is happening in China right now. I thought that I would try to write a brief explainer, because the current wave of protests is truly unprecedented in the past 30+ years, and there is a lot of fear over what may happen next. For context, I'm doing this as someone who has a PhD in Asian Studies specialising in contemporary Chinese politics, so I don't know everything but I have researched China for many years.

I'll post some decent links at the end along with some China specialists & journalists I follow on Twitter (yeah I know, but it's still the place for the stuff at the moment). Here are the bullet points for those who just want a brief update:

Xi Jinping's government is still enacting a strict Zero Covid policy enforced by state surveillance and strict lockdowns.

On 24 November a fire in an apartment in Urumqi, Xinjiang province, killed 10. Many blamed strict quarantine policies on preventing evacuation.

Protests followed and have since spread nationwide.

Protesters are taking steps not seen since Tiananmen in 1989, including public chants for Xi and the CCP to step down.

Everyone is currently unsure how the government will respond.

More in-depth discussion and links under the cut:

First a caveat: this is my own analysis/explanation as a Chinese politics specialist. I will include links to read further from other experts and journalists. Also, this will be quite long, so sorry about that!

China's (aka Xi Jinping's) Covid Policy:

The first and most important context: Xi has committed to a strict Zero Covid policy in China, and has refused to change course. Now, other countries have had similar approaches and they undoubtedly saved lives - I was fortunate to live in New Zealand until this year, and Prime Minister Ardern's Zero Covid approach in 2020-2021 helped protect many. The difference is in the style/scope of enforcement, the use of vaccines, and the variant at play. China has stepped up its control on public life over the past 10 years, and has used this to enforce strict quarantine measures without full regard to the impact on people's lives - stories of people not getting food were common. Quarantine has also become a feared situation, as China moves people to facilities often little better than prisons and allegedly without much protection from catching Covid within. A personal friend in Zhengzhou went through national, then provincial, then local quarantines when moving back from NZ, and she has since done her best to avoid going back for her own mental and physical health. Xi has also committed China to its two home-grown vaccines, Sinovac and Sinopharm, both of which have low/dubious efficacy and are considered ineffective against new variants. Finally, with delta and then omicron most of the Zero-Covid countries have modified their approach due to the inability to maintain zero cases. China remains the only country still enacting whole-city eradication lockdowns, and they have become more frequent to the point that several are happening at any given time. The result is a population that is incredibly frustrated and losing hope amidst endless lockdowns and perceived ineffectiveness to address the pandemic.

Other Issues at Play:

Beyond the Covid situation, China is also wrestling with the continued slowdown in its economic growth. While its economic rise and annual GDP growth was nigh meteoric from the 80s to the 00s, it has been slowing over the past ten years, and the government is attempting to manage the transition away from an export-oriented economy to a more fully developed one. However, things are still uncertain, and Covid has taken its toll as it has elsewhere the past couple of years. Youth unemployment in particular is reaching new highs at around 20%, and Xi largely ignored this in his speech at the Party Congress in October (where he entered an unprecedented third term). As a result of the perceived uselessness of China's harsh work culture and its failure to result in a better life, many young Chinese have been promoting 躺平 tǎng píng or "lying flat", aka doing the bare minimum just to get by (similar to the English "quiet quitting"). The combination of economic issues and a botched Covid approach is important, as these directly affect the lives of ordinary middle-class Chinese, and historical it has only been when this occurred that mass movements really took off. The most famous, Tiananmen in 1989, followed China's opening up economic reforms and the dismantling of many economic safety nets allowing for growing inequality. While movements in China often grow to include other topics, having a foundation in something negatively impacting the average Han Chinese person's livelihood is important.

The Spark - 24 Nov 2022 Urumqi Apartment Fire:

The current protests were sparked by a recent fire that broke out in a flat in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang province. (This is the same Xinjiang that is home to the Uighur people, against whom China has enacted a campaign of genocide and cultural destruction.) The fire occurred in the evening and resulted in 10 deaths, which many online blamed on the strict lockdown measures imposed by officials, who prevented people from leaving their homes. It even resulted in a rare public apology by city officials. However, with anger being so high nationwide, in addition to many smaller protests that have occurred over the past two years, this incident has ignited a nationwide movement.

The Protests and Their Significance:

The protests that have broken out over the past couple of days representing the largest and most significant challenge to the leadership since the 1989 Tiananmen movement. Similar to that movement, these protests have occurred at universities and cities across the country, with many students taking part openly. This scale is almost unseen in China, particularly for an anti-government protest. Other than Tiananmen in 1989, the most widespread movements that have occurred have been incidents such as the protest of the 1999 Belgrade bombings or the 2005 and then 2012 anti-Japanese protests, all of which were about anger toward a foreign country.

Beyond the scale the protests are hugely significant in their message as well. Protesters are publicly shouting the phrases "习近平下台 Xí Jìnpíng xiàtái!" and "共产党下台 Gòngchǎndǎng xiàtái!", which mean "Xi Jinping, step down/resign!" and "CCP, step down/resign!" respectively. To shout a direct slogan for the government to resign is unheard of in China, particularly as Xi has tightened control of civil society. And people are doing this across the country in the thousands, openly and in front of police. This is a major challenge for a leader and party who have prioritised regime stability as a core interest for the majority of their history.

Looking Ahead:

Right now, as of 15:00 Australian Eastern time on Monday, 28 November 2022, the protests are only in their first couple of days and we are unsure as to how the government will respond. Police have already been seen beating protesters and journalists and dragging them away in vehicles. However, in many cases the protests have largely been monitored by police but still permitted to occur. There seems to be uncertainty as to how they want to respond just yet, and as such no unified approach.

Many potential outcomes exist, and I would warn everyone to be careful in overplaying what can be achieved. Most experts I have read are not really expecting this to result in Xi's resignation or regime change - these things are possible, surely, but it is a major task to achieve and the unity & scale of the protest movement remains to be fully seen. The government may retaliate with a hard crackdown as it has done with Tiananmen and other protests throughout the years. It may also quietly revamp some policies without publicly admitting a change in order to both pacify protesters and save face. The CCP often uses mixed tactics, both coopting and suppressing protest movements over the years depending on the situation. Changing from Zero Covid may prove more challenging though, given how much Xi has staked his political reputation on enforcing it.

What is important for everyone online, especially those of us abroad, is to watch out for the misinformation campaign the government will launch to counter these protests. Already twitter is reportedly seeing hundreds of Chinese bot accounts mass post escort advertisements using various city names in order to drown out protest results in the site's search engine. Chinese officials will also likely invoke the standard narrative of Western influence and CIA tactics as the reason behind the protests, as they did during the Hong Kong protests.

Finally, there will be a new surge of misinformation and bad takes from tankies, or leftists who uncritically support authoritarian regimes so long as they are anti-US. An infamous one, the Qiao Collective, has already worked to shift the narrative away from the protests and onto debating the merits of Zero Covid. This is largely similar to pro-Putin leftists attempting the justify his invasion of Ukraine. Always remember that the same values that you use to criticise Western countries should be used to criticise authoritarian regimes as well - opposing US militarism and racism, for example, is not incompatible with opposing China's acts of genocide and state suppression. If you want further info (and some good sardonic humour) on the absurd takes and misinfo from pro-China tankies, I would recommend checking out Brian Hioe in the links below.

Finally, keep in mind that this is a grass-roots protest made by people in China, who are putting their own lives at risk to demonstrate openly like this. There have already been so many acts of bravery by those who just want a better future for themselves and their country, and it is belittling and disingenuous to wave away everything they are doing as being just a "Western front" or a few "fringe extremists".

Links:

BBC live coverage page with links to analysis and articles

ABC (Australia) analysis

South China Morning Post analysis

Experts & Journalists to Check Out:

Brian Hioe - Journalist & China writer, New Bloom Magazine

Bonnie Glaser - China scholar, German Marshall Fund

Vicky Xu - Journalist & researcher, Australian Strategic Policy Institute

Stephen McDonnell - Journalist, BBC

M Taylor Fravel - China scholar, MIT

New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre - NZ's hub of China scholarship (I was fortunate to attend their conferences during my PhD there, they do great work!)

If you've reached the end I hope this helps with understanding what's going on right now! A lot of us who know friends and whanau in China are worried for their safety, so please spread the word and let's hope that there is something of a positive outcome ahead.

#孟珏’s china corner #中国 #上海 #习近平 #习近平下台 #共产党下台 #China #Shanghai #China protests #China protests 2022 #Xi Jinping #Xi Jinping step down #CCP step down #Xi Jinping resign #CCP resign #乌鲁木齐 #Urumqi #Urumqi fire #Urumqi apartment fire

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allthebrazilianpolitics · 4 months

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Brazilian-developed vaccine against Covid-19 registered by Anvisa

The new vaccine against Covid-19 developed by the Brazilian company Zalika Farmacêutica has been entered into the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) this week, Agencia Brasil reported. The drug can be used in people aged 12 and over and is to be administered in two doses, 21 days apart, with boosters after 6 months for those over 18 years of age.

The technology used in the Zalika vaccine is called “recombinant” because its molecules are formed by combining two different sources. In this case, the protein S antigen (spike) -capable of promoting a response from the immune system- and the saponin-based adjuvant allow the mixture to enhance the production of antibodies. This form of production brings greater safety to the pharmaceutical industry, Anvisa explained in a statement.

The new immunizer is the sixth to receive definitive individual registration from Anvisa, in addition to Comirnaty Ipfizer/Wyeth, Comirnaty bivalent (Pfizer), Janssen Vaccine (Janssen-Cila), Oxford/Covishield (Fiocruz and Astra-Zeneca) and Spikevax bivalent vaccines have received this type of authorization. Pfizer/Biontech, Astra-Zeneca, Janssen, Moderna, Sinopharm, and Sinovac also have definitive registration in the form of the Covax Facility consortium.

#brazil #brazilian politics #politics #coronavirus #covid 19 #vaccination #mod nise da silveira #image description in alt

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nice2meetyouu · 1 year

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Hindi na Palamunin 2023

These days, nags-stay kami ng kapatid ko sa ibang lugar kasi walang tubig sa bahay. Ang saya, ang payapa!!! Ayaw nga umuwi ng kapatid ko kasi walang tubig, pero sabi ng nanay ko, "Bakit? Kasi wala ako?" Or something similar.

Dito, para makapaghugas ng pinggan, nag-iigib sa timba ng tubig tapos inaakyat sa third floor. Tapos kailangan, tipid na tipid sa pagbuhos. Mahirap din mag-toothbrush at mag-CR. Tatay ko lang ang naliligo (kasi siya lang masipag magbuhat ng tubig paakyat).

Anyway, ang irrelevant ng intro pero tungkol lang naman talaga 'to sa may trabaho na ako. Tinawagan ako last week habang nasa bank para i-congratulate. Ang company na ito ay isa sa mga gumawa ng COVID vaccine noong pandemic. Sabi ng parents ko noong sinabi ko sa kanila at ganyan din ang description ko, "Sinovac? Sinopharm? O 'yung bakuna galing sa India?" Aguy.

Dahil bibo-bibo ako este gusto ko na rin magstart agad para may sahod agad, next week na ako magsisimula. Kaya lang, inunderestimate ko 'yung hirap ng paperwork. Bukod sa usual pre-employment requirements, may sangkatutak silang forms. Pinapasulat pa ako ng commitment letter.

Ang higpit ah, may pa-background check-background check pang nalalaman. Ano kayang makikita nila roon? Ang daya eh, positive or negative lang marereceive ko. Pag negative, tsugi na ako, kahit pa "hired" na.

Buti kung gano'n lang, kaso may bond 'yung kontrata, so bawal ako umalis for X years. Pag daw umalis ako in less than X years, magbabayad ako ng Y amount (note: 5 digits, mataas) at kasama sa inilagay nilang reason eh nag-spend sila ng effort sa hiring process. Aba, ako rin naman ah!

Yay to corporate slavery! Abangan kung happy pa ako sa 2024.

#employed

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beardedmrbean · 1 year

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When China relaxed its zero-COVID policy at the start of December, international observers warned there would be mass outbreaksin the Chinese population, which, it was estimated, lacks sufficient herd immunity or vaccine protection.

One statistical model published by healthdata.org predicts that 300,000 people could die from COVID-19 infections by April 2023 and 1.6 million people could die by the end of the year.

"Infections are steeply on the rise and hospitals are overwhelmed. It's quite [certain] that the situation is spiraling out of control, at least in Beijing and other big cities," said Björn Alpermann, a sinologist at the University of Würzburg in Germany.

COVID wave in China 'thermonuclear bad'

On December 19, a prominent epidemiologist, Eric Feigl-Ding, tweeted that the situation was "thermonuclear bad."

Feigl-Ding predicted "over 60% of China's and 10% of the Earth's population likely infected over the next 90 days. Deaths likely in the millions — plural."

In scenes reminiscent of the early months of the pandemic in 2020, Feigl-Ding posted a video of what looks like an overcrowded hospital, with patients lying close next to each other on the floor.

Other reports suggest morgues and crematoriums are overloaded, with backlogs running into the thousands. "The reports that crematoriums are working 24/7 are deeply disturbing," said Alpermann.

How accurate are the statistics?

It's not known how many people are currently infected with COVID-19 in China or the number of those who have recently died from the disease.

Oliver Radtke who lives in Beijing and is the chief representative of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, an independent political foundation affiliated with Germany's Greens, said it was impossible to know how severe the current COVID wave was by reading the official statistics.

"Judging strictly from personal evidence, scrolling through WeChat [social media] and having conversations with colleagues and friends, I reckon about one third in the city is sick, one third is taking care of the sick and one third simply doesn't dare to venture out," Radtke told DW.

Alpermann said the Chinese government had more or less admitted that its statistics were artificially low when it said that it would only count COVID deaths that had happened due to lung failure. That's Alpermann's personal assessment, but it suggests that those statistics tell only a partial truth.

The lack of accurate statistics about the current COVID situation in China makes predictions about deaths and illness difficult.

"There are so many moving parts in models, so there's a lot of guess work. The subvariant [of omicron, BF.7] circulating in China now isn't well studied, and we don't know how fast people will get boosters this winter," Alpermann said.

Booster campaign to target elderly

So, how are Chinese health authorities responding to the situation? Radtke said authorities had placed responsibility on individuals to keep safe.

"The official slogan these days is 'everybody is responsible for the prevention and control of the pandemic,'" he said.

But the Chinese National Health Commission (NHC) has initiated a large vaccination and booster campaign, especially for the elder and other high-risk groups.

Many health experts outside China have been critical about the effectiveness of Chinese vaccines from Sinovac and Sinopharm compared to mRNA vaccines, such as the BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna jabs — and the NHC is only administering vaccines made in China.

However, reports suggest they may include new nasal spray vaccines in the booster program. The hope is that the new vaccine types will reduce COVID transmission as well as the risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms.

"Worries about grandparents and older parents are high. Especially regarding family members in the countryside and [remote] provinces, where Intensive Care Unit beds are rare or non-existent," said Radtke.

What caused the latest COVID outbreak in China?

Experts say that the current infection and death rates in China may be because the country has a lower level of population immunity than that in other countries.

"The Chinese government boasted they won a victory against COVID with their zero-COVID strategy. For some time it looked that way in 2021, but with omicron the picture completely changed," said Alpermann.

China has pursued a zero-COVID policy since the pandemic began.

During zero-COVID, the government implemented mass testing, imposed strict lockdowns and quarantined those people with COVID-19 in special facilities.

Now that it has relaxed its lockdown rules, the population has been going out but with very little natural exposure to infection, especially the more contagious variants, such as omicron — because they were locked in for all that time. In any case, that is the theory you hear from health experts outside China.

Rates of booster vaccine uptake are estimated to be low in China, especially among older people who have a higher risk of developing severe symptoms — only about one-third of over-80s and two-thirds of over 60s have received their first booster shot, according to official data.

"In retrospect, it now looks like the Chinese government did not use the time during zero-COVID to their own advantage to get vaccination rates as high as they should have been. They did not import more advanced mRNA vaccines or approve mRNA vaccines created in China," Alpermann said.

The first of three waves

Speaking at a conference in Beijing on December 17, Zunyou Wu, a chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the current outbreak would peak this winter and run in three waves for about three months.

The modelling mentioned at the start of this article puts the potential death rate as high as 1.6 million people by the end of 2023. But that depends on whether COVID transmission can or will be contained with new lockdowns and by the success of vaccination programs.

"I am worried about what happens once the current wave reaches the lesser-developed parts of the country, especially in the western hinterland," said Radtke.

Whatever the exact figures, Chinese health authorities appear to be struggling to keep up with the spread of the disease, and that continues to cause concern outside of the country as well.

#nunyas news #What caused the latest COVID outbreak in China?#are you really so dense that you think people don't know the answer to that already

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didanawisgi · 2 years

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#covid-19 vaccine #covid-19

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keynewssuriname · 14 days

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Santokhi bezoekt geïntereseerde investeerders op in China

Als onderdeel van het staatsbezoek in China heeft president Chandrikapersad Santokhi verschillende gesprekken gevoerd met grote Chinese bedrijven die interesse hebben om te investeren in Suriname. Het gaat hierbij onder andere aan investeringen in de mijnbouw, agrarische sector, technologie overdracht, energie, scheepvaart, transport, olie en gas en infrastructuur, vooral weginfrastructuur en andere bouwkundige werken, Op de eerste dag heeft Santokhi al overleg gehad met Chen Jinghe, de CEO van Zijin Mining, Dit bedrijf is een van de grootste mijnbedrijven in de wereld. Het bedrijf is actief in Suriname sinds het is overgenomen van IAMGOLD-operaties. De CEO heeft aangegeven de operaties in Suriname te willen uitbreiden. Dit wordt door de president in overweging genomen omdat het Ministerie van Natuurlijke Hulpbronnen eem goed contact heeft met het bedrijf waarvan de inkomsten voor de staat enorm belangrijk zijn. Na de formele en constructieve ontmoetingen met de Chinese regering werden de handelsgesprekken door president Santokhi voortgezet. Er zijn bezoeken afgelegd aan de hoofdkantoren van de CITIC Group en China Communications Construction Company (CCCC). De gesprekken met CITIC, een van de grootste Chinese conglomeraten, richtte zich op voedselveiligheid, de agrarische sector, retail en telecommunicatie. President Santokhi werd ontvangen door CITIC Group voorzitter Chang Zhenming. Er werd gesproken over investeringsmogelijkheden in diverse sectoren in Suriname. Het ligt in de bedoeling dat een topdelegatie van CITIC Suriname zal aandoen in de komende weken om concreet voort te bouwen op de gevoerde gesprekken. Tijdens het bezoek aan CCCC werd door Wang Tongzhou, voorzitter van het bedrijf, ook de intentie kenbaar gemaakt aan president Santokhi om te investeren in Suriname. CCCC is het moederbedrijf van de China Road & Bridge Corporation (CRBC) dat een van de twee bedrijven is waarmee verder wordt gepraat over de bouw en financiering van de brug over de Corantijn Rivier. CRBC is reeds actief in Suriname met onder andere de renovatie van de brug bij de Saramaccadoorsteek in partnerschap met Surinaamse bedrijven. President Santokhi ontving nog een vijftal bedrijven waaronder CHINALCO – China Aluminum Corporation- , China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), SINOPHARM, Beijing Construction Engineering Group en Power China. Onder andere werd er interesse getoond in het voornemen van de regering om de bauxietindustrie op te zetten in West-Suriname. Het doel van de gesprekken is dan ook om de interesse van de bedrijven om te zetten in concrete investeringen. In het proces van de verdere gezondmaking van de economie van Suriname zal de regering de bedrijven aanmoedigen om samen te werken met Surinaamse partnerbedrijven. President Santokhi zal samen met zijn delegatie de handelsbesprekingen voortzetten in Dalian en Shenzen, de hoofdkwartieren van de in Suriname actieve Dalian(CTIG), Huawei en Tencent. Laatstgenoemden zijn IT bedrijven. Het staatsbezoek aan China wordt op 17 april afgesloten. Read the full article

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farhan7385 · 2 months

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Laboratory Reagents Market Report 2024 — By Size, Report, Growth, Demand, Forecast To 2034

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acumed · 2 years

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I’m going to Germany, yeppie!

Hi! Today I’ll be sharing about a secret vacation that I am planning to take in December! Can you guess where I will be going? Okay, let me give you a clue. The capital of the country is Berlin,do you know where? The answer is Germany! If you know the answer then well done if not it is okay. I’ll be sharing about the plans I have made including about the places I have planned to visit and where I'll be staying. I will also share a little about the Sinopharm vaccine and how the Sinopharm vaccination process goes. So stay along if you want to know some cool places and tips I have for you when you visit Germany.

For starters, I’ll be travelling for 10 days. It is going to be my very first time in Germany, hence I have done a lot of research on places to visit and what could be some of the exciting things I could do. Firstly, I will be staying in the Steigenberger Hotel. It is a 5 star hotel that comes with amazing amenities. They have a beautiful pool, a full service spa, restaurant and bar/lounge. The reason I have chosen this hotel is because of the spread of positive comments and there are many attractions that are a walkable distance from the hotel such as the Europa Centre and Berlin Zoological garden.

Currently based on my research during December it is going to be around -3 degrees to 5 degrees. It is my first time experiencing such temperatures so I have decided to invest my money in some good quality winter jackets and heat warmers. I am not too sure what to expect from the weather as I can withstand cold temperatures quite well. For example I can sleep with the aircon at 18 degrees without any blankets. But better to be prepared for then to go to Germany and realise that I am going to freeze.

For the attractions that I have planned out my first stop is going to be the TV tower at Alexanderplatz. The height of the tower is 368 metres allowing it to be spotted at almost every point in Berlin. It is one of the most popular attractions in Berlin and due to the regulations only 380 visitors are allowed in the sphere at any one time hence I have decided to book my ticket in advance to ensure that I get a slot. It is a great place to go to if you would like to have a breathtaking view of the city. You can practically watch the sunset twice as you could go to the highest floor and see the sunset and then take their extremely fast lift that travels at 6 metres per second to a lower floor to see the sun again. I highly recommend you to consider this as one of the attractions to visit if you do go to Berlin.

The second location I will be going to is the Europa Centre. Well it is not really an attraction as per say but it is a shopping mall with over 70 retail stores and the best part is it is open at all times and it is very near the hotel that I am planning to stay at. Next up on my list is heading to watch the sunset at Klunkerkranich, it has an amazing spot for you to just lay back and relax while having a drink as they have a rooftop bar where you can order some snacks as well.

If you have stayed on here’s a little something, you need not have to worry about communication in Berlin. As long as you know English you are good to go. The people in Berlin understand and can speak English well, not all of them but most of them. Learning a little German will benefit you, however you do not have to stress about it.

Back to my planning, as I am staying there for 10 days I have decided to take one to two days off to just stay in my hotel and chill. What is the point of not relaxing when you are on a vacation, am I right? Needless to say I have to make use of the amenities available as well. Well there is one thing that I have to let you know, as mentioned before about vaccinations.

To ensure that I am safe and able to peacefully enjoy my vacation without having to worry about Covid.

I have decided to take my Sinopharm vaccination in Singapore. It consists of two doses, where I have to wait a minimum of three to four weeks before my second one. I already took my first dose. And I have to let you know that I am perfectly fine, initially I did feel weird but that is just the vaccine flowing through your body and your body getting used to it. It is best to rest well after taking your vaccine. Do not take part in any physical activity and constantly drink water and rest. After a few days you will feel much better. For those of you who are wondering about the price of the Sinopharm vaccine, it varies from doctors and hospitals as many medical centres provide it. If you head down to Raffles Medical it will cost you $99SGD for both doses. The Sinopharm vaccine is only meant for 18 years old and above. Yes it is not a 100 percent but something is better than nothing. Currently being vaccinated is the only possibility of you moving around, let alone travelling out of the country. Together we can all do our part and get vaccinated to help in dealing with the virus.

I am excited for my second dose as once I have done it I know that I am vaccinated and I can peacefully head to Germany for my vacation. Do stick around for my next few articles where I will drop more information about the steps I have taken in planning my trip and there will definitely be one once I am back so share all about my experience with you!

I hope you have learned and enjoyed something from reading this, till next time stay safe!

#sinopharm vaccine #sinopharm vaccination

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