The Hong Kong Secretary for Health, Lo Chung-mau, has approved the paediatric and toddler versions of the BioNTech vaccine against Covid-19. According a press release issued on Wednesday, the Covid-19 vaccine has been authorised for emergency use, though there is no information yet on when it will be available to the public.
There are some conditions attached to the approval, as the government requires the vaccine manufacturer to provide it with “clinical data on the vaccines, safety update reports, and quality certification documents by the drug manufacturer for each batch of vaccines.” The HKSAR authorities are now awaiting information about the schedule and supply of the vaccine from the manufacturer.
Currently, the only vaccine in Hong Kong available for children aged six months to five years old is Sinovac, while BioNTech is only approved for children aged over five years old.
This development also comes after the Hong Kong government’s recent efforts to step up its efforts to get children vaccinated against the virus. Secondary schools that wish to continue holding whole-day face-to-face classes must ensure that at least 90% of their students are triple-vaccinated against Covid-19 by November 1. In addition, children in the 5-11 age group must now have a valid vaccine pass to enter certain public premises in the city, such as restaurants, pools, and sports venues.
Header image credits: RyanKing999 via Canva
Add comment