“Please line up to get your consent form!” International teaching staff and students of Beijing Normal University eagerly lined up before the Qiu Jiduan Stadium to get vaccinated. Volunteers were handing out consent forms for COVID-19 vaccination and guiding them to the stadium in order.

On the afternoon of April 19, more than 100 international teaching staff and students got vaccinated at a COVID-19 vaccination site on campus on the premise of voluntary application and consent.

To ensure the smooth arrival on site of people coming in for vaccinations, staff and students can arrive at the vaccination site at the hour of the day according to their scheduled vaccine appointment. This has made the vaccination process efficient and safe.

At 1p.m., international teaching staff and students were arriving at the waiting zone in front of Qiu Jiduan Stadium. There were five zones at the vaccination site in the Stadium. They were the consent form signing zone, the temperature-taken zone, the clinical assessment & identity verification zone, the vaccination zone and the observation zone, with each zone equipped with a sign written in Chinese and English to ensure an efficient flow of people to go though the vaccination process. Besides, volunteers and staff members helped them check in, maintain order at the site, and answer their questions.

After students and teaching staff’s temperatures were taken, identities verified and fees paid, the medical staff at the clinical assessment zone would confirm their physical conditions. Only when all four steps were properly followed can one wait in line to receive a vaccine. After the vaccination, they were asked to stay at the observation zone for 30 minutes. If they had a reaction to the vaccine, they could immediately report their symptoms to the medical staff at the site. After 30 minutes, the vaccination process was done. 

“I’m glad I have the opportunity to get vaccinated”, said Miss Lucia, a staff member of BNU from Brazil, “Vaccination is the best way to protect us from getting infected with corona.” She added that the vaccination process was smooth and painless, and she would share this experience with her friends and colleagues.

 Lucia, teacher from BNU

“Now it’s done. I can rest assured…as an international student, I didn’t expect that I can get vaccinated so fast”, said an international student from Panama who is studying for a doctor’s degree. Previously, she believed that vaccines were available to Chinese students only. She was overjoyed that she could receive her vaccine on campus so fast. She added that, “To get vaccinated is not only for the safety of the public, but also for your own wellbeing”

According to the principle that “people who are physically sound should get vaccinated as soon as possible”, all districts in Beijing are advancing the process of vaccination in a safe and orderly manner. Under the guidance of the State Council on joint disease prevention and control, foreigners of certain age groups in Beijing also have access to vaccines on the premise of voluntary application and consent.

Sally, student from BNU

Noman, an international student from Pakistan, held that under the world’s epidemic situation, getting vaccinated is the best choice right now.“…not to mention that the school authority has done a good job in arranging the vaccination in a timely manner. ” Lem Diana, an international student from Russia, said that the injection process was so quick that she didn’t even realize it was done. In fact, Ying Ming was not alone in feeling so. Many of them also marveled at the smoothness and efficiency of the vaccination process. As to side effects, apart from mild injection site pain, they reported no other allergic reaction to the vaccine.

Noman, student from BNU

After staying at the observation zone for 30 minutes, Schnaak William Coleman, an international student from the US, said with a thumbs-up sign to the camera as he walked out of the Stadium that“Now I’m gonna go home, do my homework, and get on with my life. ”

Schnaak William Coleman, student from BNU

President Xi Jinping said at the opening ceremony of the 73th World Health Assembly video conference that, “Mankind is a community with a shared future. Solidarity and cooperation is our most powerful weapon for defeating the virus.”

Receiving COVID-19 vaccines not only helps protect individuals from being infected with the virus, but also plays a crucial role in our building a public health community for mankind.