Govt To Probe Possible Covid Jab Side Effects

The Health Secretary, Sophia Chan, said on Monday that authorities will investigate whether an elderly man who became ill after receiving the Sinovac coronavirus vaccine was suffering from any side effects.

The 72-year-old man, who had hypertension, started developing heart palpitations on Saturday within half an hour after the jab. He was sent to hospital and was said to be in a stable condition.

Chan said the government would follow established procedures to assess the case.

“The Department of Health and an expert panel will study whether the case is linked to the vaccine. They will then see if the patient is eligible for the indemnity fund after the assessment,” she said.

Chan was speaking as online appointments reopened for the city-wide inoculation programme for high-priority groups to book 270,000 Sinovac shots against Covid-19.

About 830 private doctors will help administer 63,000 doses of the Sinovac jabs from Tuesday.

People who would like to receive vaccines made by German drug-maker BioNTech can start booking from Wednesday. There are 140,000 available spots at a handful of vaccination centres.

The Secretary for the Civil Service, Patrick Nip, said people are keen to be vaccinated.

He said more than 20,000 people have received their first doses of Sinovac vaccines since the vaccination programme was launched last week.

Hong Kong recorded 14 new coronavirus cases on Monday, 11 of which were local cases.

Five had no known source of transmission.

Chan said an outbreak at a Tsim Sha Tsui restaurant involving more than 40 people is worrying.

She appealed to members of the public to avoid eating out together, especially during peak hours.