BioNTech Covid Vaccines Will Be Made In Europe: Govt

Health officials said on Saturday that a Covid-19 vaccine developed by German firm BioNTech in collaboration with China's Fosun Pharma will be manufactured in Europe.

In its latest attempt to allay public concerns over the safety of the vaccines, a Health Bureau spokesman said Fosun Pharma will be responsible for the clinical testing as well as the sales in China, while BioNTech will provide the 7.5 million doses for Hong Kong.

It's expected that the first batch of one million doses will arrive in the city in the first quarter of next year at the earliest.

Another 7.5 million doses from the mainland company will be manufactured in Beijing, the spokesman said, with the first batch of around one million doses arriving next month at the earliest.

Officials are also buying 7.5 million jabs from AstraZeneca, which is developing another coronavirus vaccine with Oxford University. The spokesman said it's expected the company can start delivering the vaccines to Hong Kong from the end of the second quarter next year, but he can't say where the vaccines will be made yet.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Carrie Lam wrote on her Facebook page that while the government hopes to inoculate people as soon as possible, they will have to first make sure the vaccines are safe and effective.

She said she and ministers in her cabinet will be the first to receive a jab when any of the Covid-19 vaccine is approved for emergency use in Hong Kong.