'Sinovac Vaccine Probably Won't Arrive Next Month'

A government adviser on the pandemic said on Thursday that there will likely be a month's delay for Sinovac's vaccine to reach Hong Kong, as reports said the release of the jab's latest trial results in Brazil is being pushed back.

The mainland vaccine manufacturer was originally expected to publish its vaccine's phase three efficacy data around Wednesday, but it has now asked for the release to be put back by up to 15 days so that it can analyse the data from Brazil alongside that collected in Indonesia and Turkey.

Brazilian researchers said on Wednesday that preliminary data suggests Sinovac jabs are "more than 50 percent effective".

Health Secretary Sophia Chan had previously expected Hong Kong to get hold of the vaccine in January and have people injected by February or March.

But Chinese University's Professor David Hui said on a radio programme that the jabs will probably arrive only in February, adding that the BioNTech/Fosun Pharma vaccine may be the first available in the city.

Meanwhile, University of Hong Kong microbiologist Ho Pak-leung played down concerns over Sinovac’s delay in announcing the latest clinical data.

“For mainland vaccines, relevant departments like the National Medical Products Administration have tight supervision over the production and other areas,” he told an RTHK programme.

He added that the technology used by Sinovac to make the vaccine is mature.

But he urged the government to keep pushing for more information on the vaccine's efficacy on mutated coronavirus strains. (Additional reporting by Reuters)