Advisers Say Covid Jab Age Limit Should Be Reduced

Government advisers have unanimously agreed to recommend a lowering of the minimum age for vaccination to six months.

Currently, children must be aged three or above to receive the Sinovac vaccine, while the minimum age for BioNtech is set at five.

Speaking after an advisory panel meeting on Monday, one of the experts, Lau Yu-lung, said they have agreed that both jabs are safe and effective for those of an even younger age.

He said that adult doses of Sinovac can be administered to babies, but BioNtech is different because of the risk of heart inflammation.

"There's the adult dosage and a baby version for those aged six months to five years, which is a tenth of the adult dosage," he explained.

Lau said officials would need to source a smaller dosage of the BioNtech vaccine for babies, or figure out a way to properly dilute doses.

"If we can't purchase the baby version, it's difficult and challenging to dilute the adult dosage and get a tenth of it out," said Lau.

The panel agreed that parents should be given options to choose from, according to Lau, so that more people will be willing to get inoculated to prevent serious illnesses or death from Covid-19.

Prior to the announcement, the Hospital Authority reported the death of a 22-month-old girl infected with Covid.