London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 03, 2025

Covid-19 vaccines for Hong Kong: safety, politics and what you need to know

Covid-19 vaccines for Hong Kong: safety, politics and what you need to know

City’s leader has assured public that all residents will have access to vaccines.

Following months of hardship brought by the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Friday finally declared – with caution – that Hong Kong was seeing a “brighter” light at the end of the tunnel. She unveiled updates on the government’s progress on procuring vaccines, the first batch of which could arrive as early as January. Here are the latest developments.

Which vaccines are Hong Kong getting?


The government has signed advanced purchase agreements to procure 7.5 million vaccines each from two separate suppliers. The first batch of 1 million jabs, from Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech, is expected to arrive in January, while another million from overseas – co-developed by Germany’s BioNTech and US-based Pfizer, and secured via the mainland firm Fosun Pharma – is due in the first quarter of 2021.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have been proven to have an efficacy rate of 95 per cent, while Sinovac is expected to publish the third-phase clinical data on its product soon.


Sinovac has yet to release its vaccine’s third-phase data


A third agreement to be signed will bring another 7.5 million doses of the vaccine developed in a co-venture by British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca and Oxford University, though those will not be available until the second half of next year. Clinical results have shown that vaccine to have an average efficacy rate of 70 per cent so far.

Lam said the government’s plan was to stock up enough doses for two full inoculations for each of the city’s 7.5 million residents – for a total of four doses per person, given that all three vaccines the government is purchasing require two shots. That means Hong Kong will need to secure at least 7.5 million more doses.

How will they be distributed?


Lam called it “very much a government vaccination programme”. The authorities will manage the purchase, administration and prioritisation of the jabs, leaving little room for private doctors to secure their own stock as in the case of flu vaccines.


Chief Executive Carrie Lam attends a press conference on vaccine procurement on Friday.


It is also unlikely that people will be able to choose their vaccine brand. The government has plans to prioritise medical workers and elderly residents during its first phase of implementation. While the jabs will be free, they will not be mandatory, and Lam urged people to be “forthcoming”.

What are the challenges ahead and how can risks be mitigated?


One reason it may not be possible for the private sector to get involved – apart from the cutthroat nature of worldwide procurement – is the need for high-end storage technologies.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine requires refrigeration at minus 70 degrees Celsius – or Antarctic temperatures. It also requires dilution before use, meaning clinical laboratory standards will have to be strictly maintained.

Like governments elsewhere, Hong Kong’s is betting on some vaccines before they have even been approved because the technology is so new. To avoid putting their eggs in the wrong basket, the government’s approach is to engage at least two different firms which deploy two different technologies.

Government adviser Professor David Hui Shu-cheong said the Sinovac Biotech vaccine had yet to publish its third-phase clinical data, but potential risks lay in possible side effects such as headaches and rashes, which would be acceptable if they occurred in only 2 to 3 per cent of those vaccinated.

How is the government faring in the global race to procure vaccines?


Britain made the headlines worldwide earlier this week by becoming the first Western country to begin vaccinating its elderly citizens, including an 81-year-old man named William Shakespeare. Canada on Thursday authorised the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.


British citizen William Shakespeare, 81, receives the Covid-19 vaccine at in Coventry earlier this week.


Closer to home, Macau authorities announced they were poised to carry out vaccinations by the end of this month at the earliest.

A scientist in charge of vaccine development on the mainland last Friday said China would have 600 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines ready for market this year and that a major announcement was expected soon.

Australia’s regulators were on course to review Pfizer’s vaccine by January, with a timetable to start vaccinations in March.

Singapore said it was in talks with various pharmaceutical firms, including Pfizer, and aspired to become the vaccine distribution hub for Southeast Asia.

Why is Covid-19 vaccination a political hot potato in Hong Kong?


Beijing has been offering help to Hong Kong in its battle against Covid-19 as a charm offensive following months of protests last year steeped in anti-mainland sentiment.

On Friday, Lam once again gave her assurance that Beijing was ready to step in and provide help when necessary, even if Hong Kong appeared to be doing well procuring vaccines.

But the purchase of vaccines from a mainland firm prompted tough questions from journalists, who asked how she intended to convince members of the public sceptical of the quality of the Chinese-made vaccine.

“Don’t get involved in politics. Look at it from a totally depoliticised perspective. This is about science. This is about evidence,” she replied.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×