Govt Holds Emergency Meeting Over BioNTech Jabs

Health Secretary Sophia Chan said on Wednesday that officials were holding an emergency meeting with BioNTech's partner company in the region, Fosun Pharma, after use of their coronavirus jab was suspended in Hong Kong and Macau.

The Hong Kong government cited "defective packaging" for the move, which was announced at around 10am.

"For the sake of prudence, vaccination of the batch 210102 should be suspended until the investigation is completed," said a statement in English released a few hours later.

"Meanwhile, batch 210104, another batch of BioNTech vaccines procured by Hong Kong, should also be put on hold and not be administered. This is a precautionary measure to continuously ensure vaccine safety," it added.

Chan said she would like to reassure people who have already received the German-made vaccine that the drugmaker has found nothing to show that the safety of the batch in question has been compromised.

She said further announcements would be made later.

Government figures show that the number of people making bookings for the BioNTech vaccine on Tuesday was around double the number opting for China's Sinovac jab.