Hong Kong suspended vaccination with Pfizer injections – known as BioNTech injections in the city – on Wednesday, after being told by its distributor Fosun that a batch had defective bottle caps.
The suspension was immediate while Chinese pharmaceutical company Fosun Pharma and BioNTech, a German company that created the vaccine with American pharmaceutical company Pfizer, are investigating the matter, according to a note from the Hong Kong government.
BioNTech and Fosun Pharma found no reason to believe the product was unsafe, according to the statement. However, vaccinations will be suspended as a preventive and safety measure.
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A health worker at Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center receives a COVID-19 vaccination on December 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Nathan Howard / Getty Images)
Defective caps were found in vaccines in batch number 210202. A separate batch of vaccines, 210104, will also not be administered.
Macau also said Wednesday that residents would not receive Pfizer vaccines from the affected lot.
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All community centers in Hong Kong that administer the Pfizer vaccine have temporarily suspended vaccinations and residents who have already made appointments for Wednesday do not need to go to the centers, the government said.
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The suspension of the Pfizer jab means that the only vaccine currently offered to residents is China’s Sinovac vaccine. The two vaccines are the only ones offered to Hong Kong residents.