Photographer: Roy Liu / Bloomberg
Photographer: Roy Liu / Bloomberg
Hong Kong is in no hurry to implement the Covid-19 vaccination, according to government aides, preferring to see what happens in other places most affected.
“We have the luxury of a little time to observe how the program is being implemented elsewhere, especially on the security side,” said Lam Ching-choi, a doctor and member of the Chief Executive’s advisory executive board, in an interview Monday -market. “Our specialists are in no hurry to be the first to do a vaccination program. We are finding a balance between not getting the vaccine late and having adequate supplies, and we have the luxury of knowing that the vaccine we buy is safe ”.
Unlike the United States, United Kingdom and China, which have administered millions of vaccines since December, Hong Kong has not yet authorized a vaccine and does not plan to start vaccinating until February.
Authorities have already refused to receive a shipment of Sinovac vaccines in January because regulatory approval was pending, according to Lam. The city bought enough doses – a mixture of Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE, Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and AstraZeneca Plc vaccines – to cover its 7.5 million residents, and plans to offer people the choice of vaccine they will get.
Hong Kong has reported only 9,283 cases of coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic, making it one of the most resistant places to Covid in the world. But the city is now struggling to contain a fourth wave that has resurrected the rigid requirements of social distance and frustrated local businesses – especially restaurants – and parents of school children. Authorities reported between 25 and 60 cases daily in the past week.
The city also recorded 159 deaths from Covid-19 – still about half of the total deaths inflicted in Hong Kong by severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, which killed nearly 300 people in the early 2000s.
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In separate comments on Tuesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam noticed that the launch of vaccines would not bring an immediate end to social distance.
The Hong Kong government did not immediately respond to new questions about the vaccination program on Tuesday.
The cautious approach could result in broader public acceptance of vaccines as soon as they become available, according to David Hui, a professor of respiratory medicine at Hong Kong Chinese University and a member of the government’s Covid-19 advisory panel.
“It is good to have data from North America and also the United Kingdom – which has already started the vaccination program – to show us more information about unknown side effects, such as a serious allergic reaction, so that we can prepare better,” he said. Hui said.