By The SUN
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| CE Lam says BioNTech vaccine on track to arrive end of February |
The Chief Executive has given assurance that the government
will do its best to ensure that the first approved vaccine for use in Hong Kong, Fosun/BioNTech, will arrive as scheduled by
the end of this month.
But, she said a snag could still happen because of events
unfolding in Europe, where the vaccine is
manufactured.
“Of course we will make sure that it will come but as you
have read the news in the European Union (EU), there have been all sorts of
things happening in the EU, and this vaccine is manufactured in Germany, so we
have to watch the situation very carefully,” said the CE.
“Since we have a contract to buy, I hope that all the other
organisations will respect this contractual relationship and allow the BioNTech
vaccine to come to Hong Kong by the end of
this month.”
Lam, who spoke before the start of the Executive Council
meeting today, Feb 2, said the vaccination will start almost immediately after
the BioNTech vaccine arrives because the government has got almost everything
ready for the exercise.
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| Vaccination will start as soon as the first doses arrive, says the CE |
She also assured the public that the coronavirus vaccines
will only be administered after they’ve passed scrutiny by medical experts.
Hong Kong has ordered 7.5
million doses each from BioNTech, Sinovac and AstraZeneca. The last one is not
expected to arrive until the latter part of the year, but Sinovac’s scheduled
arrival last month was delayed because of its failure to submit data required
by the government.
“We have been liaising very closely with the manufacturer.
The latest is we will be given the data so that the experts could consider the
data and recommend for the Secretary for Food and Health to authorise this
vaccine for use,” said Lam.
She said she had received assurance from Beijing that the Central Government would
help secure the early arrival of Sinovac.
