Since April 14, news of the first batch of Pfizer vaccine arriving in China and self-funded vaccination has been hotly circulated on mainland microblogs, WeChat, and self-media platforms, but many posts were quickly deleted and “Pfizer” (Pfizer) became a politically sensitive word in the CCP. Some people said they wanted to get the Pfizer vaccine even at their own expense, and that they would not get the domestic vaccine even if it was free.
Radio Free Asia reported on April 14 that, according to online media sources, Fosun Group, China’s third largest biopharmaceutical company, announced on April 13 that the first batch of Pfizer vaccines had arrived in China and were strictly clinically applied, and the data obtained showed that the effectiveness, safety, and durability of the vaccines were exactly the same as those published by Pfizer, the World Health Organization, the European Union Medicines Agency, Nature, Science, and The Lancet, all of which are overseas institutions. The data published by these institutions are in full agreement. The Pfizer vaccine has a 95% protection rate.
As seen in the report, the WeChat message “Pfizer vaccine has arrived in China and Chinese citizens must pay for it” published by China Digital Space has been deleted. There have been no public reports on how people on the mainland are being vaccinated with Pfizer vaccines or details of the costs involved.
Wang Qian, a Chinese medical professional, told Radio Free Asia, “The article has been deleted from WeChat now, it’s been harmonized. When I woke up in the morning, I saw that someone had forwarded the news, but it was immediately deleted, and the vaccine thing itself is quite sensitive. Nowadays, you don’t see objective and fair reports about vaccines in China. The people can only see that there are people dying from vaccination abroad; there are also deaths from vaccination at home, and they (the people) cannot see that.”
Mainlanders: Pfizer vaccine at their own expense
In a search on Sina Weibo, there are few relevant posts left, except for a post forwarded by Weibo user “An Pu Ruo – nicknamed Principal An” on April 14. There are many comments from netizens below the post.
The netizen “wall of light cavalry” said: “This we can fight not?” Netizen “YuerFish” said: “Who can use it? Free application? Or is it fixed?”
Netizen “the past follows the wind to the end” said: “Buttheads can’t play even if they spend money ……”
Netizen “Guqin Baician” said, “I personally would rather play Pfizer at my own expense than play domestic ones, not even if I find the money.”
Mr. Chen, a resident of Wuhan, said in an interview with Radio Free Asia, “People want to save their lives, and to save their lives, they must choose the safest and best vaccine, and spending money is secondary, but the main thing is to save their lives. If the vaccine is not safe and life cannot be preserved, what is the money for? That’s why the safety of the vaccine is most important.”
Zhang Hai, a family member of a victim of Wuhan New Crown pneumonia (CCP virus), said he would also choose the Pfizer vaccine. He said, “Because foreign vaccines have higher efficiency and protection than our domestic vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine has to be paid for out-of-pocket, but if it is available, I believe many people are willing to get it, even if the price is higher. Because life is their own, health is the most important.”
“Pfizer” has become a politically sensitive word for the Chinese Communist Party
Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group announced on December 16, 2020 that it had reached an agreement with Germany’s BioNTech to purchase the first 50 million doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. bioNTech has committed to provide no less than 100 million doses of the mRNA vaccine product to the mainland in 2021, subject to Beijing’s approval of the mRNA vaccine’s marketing, which will allow 50 million people to be vaccinated.
The BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine was jointly developed by Germany’s BioNTech and Pfizer, but Pfizer was not mentioned in the mainland media reports at the time. When Reuters, Deutsche Welle and other media reported Fosun’s purchase of the mRNA vaccine, they mentioned that the mRNA vaccine BNT162b2, jointly developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, had been approved in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the European Union and other countries.
Wang Qian told Radio Free Asia, “Fosun Group was sneaky when it ordered it, when it ordered 100 million doses. The official media reported it, but at the time it did not say it ordered Pfizer, saying it ordered a vaccine from a German medical institution, which was actually a Pfizer vaccine.”
When the first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech’s BNT162b2 vaccine arrived in Hong Kong and Macau on March 1 of this year, the mainland media also did not mention “Pfizer” in their reports. A few days later, and in January, the Chinese Communist Party’s Global Network and its editor-in-chief Hu Xijin blasted the Pfizer vaccine by name for the deaths that occurred.
Weibo user “Dawei’s battle” posted on March 7, saying, “How many days has it been? When the black vaccine is called Pfizer, when the vaccine is called Fosun, only doctrine in the eyes? There is no science at all? Do you have the rigor of a writer?”
Up to now, the Chinese Communist Party has not announced the situation of mainland vaccination with domestic vaccines, but 14 people have died in Hong Kong since February 26 after receiving the domestic Kexing vaccine, and several people have developed symptoms such as facial paralysis and stroke; the number of confirmed cases in countries receiving Chinese vaccines (Chile, Turkey, Pakistan, etc.) has increased rather than decreased.
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