'China's Sinovac Jabs Not Good Enough For Elderly'

A pharmacists' group on Thursday urged the government not to let elderly people in Hong Kong receive coronavirus vaccines developed by mainland company Sinovac, in view of media reports that the jabs were found to be only 50 percent effective during trials in Brazil.

The president of the Society of Hospital Pharmacists, William Chui, said it is more suitable for the elderly, who usually have weaker immune systems than younger people, to receive vaccines developed by other drug companies such as BioNTech, which have a higher efficacy rate.

"For the elderly, especially those who stay in the elderly homes, their immune system is not so strong. They may not produce 50 percent efficacy or even lower," he said.

"We advise the government to review the data... There are a lot of choices, at least two, one is AstraZeneca, one is BioNTech vaccine," he said.

He told RTHK's Wendy Wong the Sinovac vaccine could be used by young and healthy people instead.

"Young people have strong immune systems. Even though the efficacy [of the Sinovac vaccine] is low, they still can keep 50 percent," he said.

"If you look at the data, the efficacy can go up to 60 percent. That's why we recommend the younger people to take the Sinovac vaccine," he said.

Vaccination centres across the city are expected to start operating next month to first give jabs to at-risk groups, including elderly people, medical workers and patients with chronic illnesses.