Catherine Zhu, an overseas Chinese in Switzerland, feels it is worthwhile to spend nearly $ 11,000 to fly back to China and to get two doses of the Sinovac Biotech vaccine.

"Sharing the experience of returning to China to get Covid-19 on social media has become one of the most popular topics," said Catherine, a Chinese native living in Zurich.

Zhu spent nearly 70,000 yuan ($ 10,700) buying a one-way ticket to China in late October, completing a negative nucleic acid and antibody test within 48 hours before boarding the plane, facing

After giving a second dose of Covid-19 vaccine made by Chinese firm Sinovac Biotech, Zhu thought all the complicated procedures she went through to get back home were worth it.

"In Switzerland, the number of new Covid-19 infections is soaring, and the difficulty in providing vaccines keeps me worried," Zhu said.

China is one of the leading countries in the development of the Covid-19 vaccine with five candidates undergoing Phase Three clinical trials in more than 16 countries.

However, there are also a number of Chinese living abroad who recently returned home hoping to be vaccinated.

According to Zhu, there are now many channels for overseas Chinese to return to their home countries for vaccinations, including making appointments through local overseas Chinese organizations, community authorities and companies.

Zhu feels very lucky that no serious reactions have occurred.

When she returned to Switzerland, passengers from China like her were also cleared of customs quickly and went home without the need for isolation or nCoV testing.

"To me, getting vaccinated is like wearing an armor. Even though I will continue to wear a mask, wash my hands frequently, and be socially distressed in the face of a serious epidemic in Europe, I know there is.

China has begun its campaign of emergency vaccinations and will gradually expand to the entire population.

Qing Tian County, Zhejiang Province, has a population of 570,000 but more than 300,000 are overseas, including 100,000 in Italy.

"As far as I know, hundreds of Qing Tian people in Italy flew back to get vaccinations," Xu said.

Flight costs are not cheap, with one-way tickets costing around $ 2,500 and a 2-week isolation fee of at least $ 700.

"Vaccines are not expensive, only 400 yuan two doses," Xu said.

The interval between injections is 28 days.

For decades, the Chinese have often chosen vaccines made by Western pharmaceutical companies if given the opportunity.

"We Chinese in Italy recognize the Covid-19 vaccine as well developed by China and believe in its safety and effectiveness. The Chinese vaccine is good news for the world," Xu said.

Representatives from both Sinopharm and Sinovac said that China's pharmaceutical regulators are looking at their Phase Three clinical trial data against a stricter, even stricter, standard than in many Western countries.

Experts say the previous vaccine crisis has really undermined Chinese people's confidence in domestic immune products and facilitated the enhancement of foreign products as well as regulatory agencies.