Doctor: Parents Comfortable With Sinovac Jabs

A doctor who operates two community vaccination centres said on Monday that almost 300 children under the age of three had been brought in for their Covid jabs since the government lowered the age limit to six months from Thursday.

Speaking on RTHK's Hong Kong Today programme, Samuel Kwok said he expected that figure to increase slowly. He said that the parents didn't appear to be too concerned about the Sinovac jab, given that it was made using inactivated virus, similar to the flu vaccine.

"In fact infants, or young kids, receiving vaccination is pretty common," he told RTHK's Ben Tse. "So now that we're using Sinovac, which is an inactivated virus vaccine, it's quite similar to the flu vaccine, in fact.

"So I think parents are not very concerned about harms or any side-effects from this, so they just come and receive it. Of course we've had a few inquiries and questions about what are the conditions and things, whether they're suitable, but not too much."

The government announced the lowering of the age limit for Sinovac last week on the advice of its expert advisers. Previously, only those aged three and older could get the jab.

The minimum age limit for the BioNtech vaccine, meanwhile, remains at five as officials continue to engage in discussions with the drug manufacturer to purchase the right dosage for children.

Meanwhile Kwok said his vaccination centres in Kwun Chung and Cheung Sha Wan were still welcoming between 20 and 50 people each day to receive their very first Covid jab.