According to Dongguan Municipal Health Bureau, in accordance with the national and provincial deployment and the actual situation of the city, starting from July 24, Dongguan city officially launches COVID-19 vaccinations for minors aged between 12 and 17, which is expected to be completed by the end of September.

It is expected that teenagers aged 15 to 17 will get the vaccination during July and August, while those aged 12 to 14 will get the vaccination during August and September. Under 12s has not been decided yet.

Q1. How to make an appointment?

1. Students at school: Submit vaccination appointment information to the school.

2. Graduates: Those who have graduated in June 2021, including third graders of senior high schools and junior high schools, as well as sixth-graders of primary schools, should make an appointment to register with the school they graduated from.

3. Students outside Dongguan: Those who do not live in Dongguan during the summer holidays can make an appointment for vaccination at their current residence.

4. Others aged 12-17: the community or village (neighbourhood committee) will organize the vaccination.

5. The procedures for compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan aged 12-17 to make an appointment for vaccination are the same as those for mainland students.Vaccination for international students aged 12-17 will be arranged according to relevant national requirements after September.

Q2. What is the manufacturer of the vaccine that is going to be used? Is it safe?

At present, the COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use for the population aged 12-17 includes that produced by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd. and Sinovac Research & Development Co., Ltd.

After these two manufacturers' COVID-19 vaccines are put into use on adults, they have the expanded clinical trials of the vaccination for people aged 3 to 17. The experimental data has been carefully evaluated by the experts, fully proving the safety of the vaccines. Therefore, the vaccines of these two manufacturers have received conditional approval for vaccination of people aged from 3 to 17.

Q3. How many doses of vaccines are needed? How long is the inoculation interval between the doses?

The current, complete immunization program is two doses within an interval of 3 to 8 weeks. In case of subsequent changes, the national documents or the instructions of vaccine products shall prevail.

Q4. What care should teenagers aged 12-17 take before the inoculation?

1. Prepare the ID card, vaccination certificate and other relevant documents as required by the school.

2. Eat and be well rested beforehand. Receive the vaccination in a natural and relaxed state.

3. Wear a mask.

4. Wear loose clothes for vaccination

5.Truthfully provide information about your health status and contraindication in vaccination.

6. After vaccination, stay 30 minutes for observation at the vaccination site.

7. If students go to the vaccination site accompanied by their guardians, they should bring relevant documents, including ID cards or household registers, vaccination certificates, etc.

Q5. What is the student population aged 12 -17? How many vaccines are needed? Can the vaccine supply and the vaccination capacity of the medical personnel meet the demand?

According to statistical data, there are about 470,000 people aged from 12 to 17 in Dongguan City. The demand for vaccines for this group is about 900,000 doses, given that each person needs two doses, and the vaccination rate is expected to reach over 95%.

From July 25, the provincial government will send the vaccine for teenagers aged 12 -17 to Dongguan. Also, according to the vaccination status in the first half of 2020 and the second half of 2020 in Dongguan, the current vaccination capacity of each town and district in Dongguan can fully meet the demand for teenagers aged 12 -17.

Q6. What specific measures will be taken to ensure that teenagers aged 12-17 will be vaccinated?

The city's leading group for vaccination work of COVID-19 has formulated a vaccination work plan for teenagers aged 12-17. The plan makes detailed and precise requirements for vaccination targets, vaccination types and procedures, pre-vaccination investigation, registration and appointment, specific implementation during vaccination, post-vaccination monitoring and disposal, etc., to ensure the safe and orderly COVID-19 vaccination for teenagers aged 12-17.

Q7. Will the vaccination be received uniformly at schools, or shall the students make an appointment by themselves?

Considering that the vaccination work is being carried out during the summer vacation and new term, during the summer vacation, schools will make appointments for students in Dongguan to receive the vaccine at the nearby site, and their parents or teachers will accompany the students to the designated vaccination site for vaccination. For students who are not in Dongguan during the vacation, schools will notify them to make their own appointments for vaccination locally.

When the new term begins, schools will organize students to receive the vaccine collectively according to the requirements.