Experts To Begin Checks On BioNTech Jab Next Week

A government adviser on the pandemic, David Hui, says experts will begin talks on Monday on approving the BioNTech vaccine for use in Hong Kong, increasing the likelihood that inoculation will begin next month.

Hui said on Saturday that he and other members of the twelve-strong vaccine advisory panel had just received more than a thousand pages of data provided by the vaccine producer, and would pore through it before deciding whether to grant emergency approval.

Hong Kong has ordered 7.5 million doses of the BioNTech vaccine, which is being produced under licence by Fosun Pharma. It's also ordered the same number of doses from AstraZeneca and SinoVac, and officials say they also plan to buy doses from a fourth manufacturer.

Hui, a Chinese University professor, added that one issue the panel will seek answers on is reports from Norway that 23 frail, elderly people died after receiving the vaccine.

"We want to actually see the information directly provided from the company to see if the cause of death was actually directly related to the vaccine or due to other causes," he said.

He said they will ask the company to provide more information over the deaths if they can't find it in the data provided.

If all goes smoothly, Hui said jabs could begin late next month, after the Lunar New Year holidays.

The convenor of the Advisory Panel on Covid-19 Vaccines, Professor Wallace Lau, added that he has learned that the government is planning to mobilise dentists and pharmacists in providing the jabs.

Speaking on a radio programme, another medical expert, the University of Hong Kong's Ivan Hung, said those who got vaccinated may also be required to mark down any side effects in a diary.

Hung said authorities may require people to jot down if they have any severe symptoms, fever or pain on their wounds following inoculation, so officials can gather data on the vaccines and decide whether there's a need to halt the programme when necessary.