Hong Kong Green Lights China’s Sinovac Vaccine for Emergency Use
Hong Kong has formally approved China’s Sinovac vaccine for emergency use, the city’s health secretary announced Thursday.
Sophia Chan said in a statement that the vaccine met the “safety, efficacy, and quality requirements specified in Hong Kong emergency situations.”
The first batch of the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine will arrive in the city on Friday at 5:30 p.m. on a Cathay Pacific cargo flight. It was formally approved despite the lack of endorsement from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The government is now seeking HK$1 billion ($129 million) from the city’s Legislative Council (LegCo) for an indemnity fund as it prepares to distribute the vaccination program citywide early next month. Chan submitted the proposal to the council on Wednesday.
Experts recommend use of Sinovac Covid vaccine
2021-02-16 HKT 20:09
Experts recommend use of Sinovac Covid vaccine Experts advising the government on its Covid-19 vaccination programme on Tuesday recommended the emergency use of the Sinovac vaccine in Hong Kong, after receiving data from the mainland drug maker suggesting that its product’s efficacy rate exceeds 60 percent.
The panel’s convenor, Professor Wallace Lau, said the panel unanimously agreed that the vaccine’s efficacy outweighs its possible risks.
He said the panel had received the information it sought following a meeting on the Sinovac jabs last week, and the data provided of late-stage trials show the vaccine’s efficacy rate is 62.3 percent – when two doses are administered 28 days apart.