Sinovac jabs approved for emergency use in HK

HONG Kong yesterday gave nod to the emergency use of the inactivated vaccine produced by Sinovac Biotech with the rollout starting on February 26, the city’s health secretary said, paving the way for residents in the global financial hub to be vaccinated for COVID-19.

The first 1 million doses from Sinovac Biotech will arrive today afternoon. The vaccines will be given to Hong Kong residents for free.

Residents will be able to get vaccinated at 29 centers across the city with five offering Sinovac and 24 offering BioNtech vaccines.

Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam said in a Facebook post that she will be inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech.

The green light came as a panel of 12 scientists announced their endorsement on Tuesday, saying the CoronaVac shot has an overall efficacy rate of slightly more than 50 percent as experts agreed that the use of the vaccine can bring more benefits than risks, making it the second one to be allowed in the city following the mRNA vaccine developed by Fosun Pharma and BioNTech.

Sophia Chan, Secretary for Food and Health of the Hong Kong government announced the decision in a statement.

Chan said the vaccine met the “safety, efficacy and quality requirements specified in Hong Kong emergency situations” and the approval is necessary and in line with public interests.

“The vaccines give us hope of returning to normal lives,” Chan said.

Patrick Nip, secretary for the civil service of the Hong Kong, said that people in priority groups, including medical workers and the aged, can book their shots online from Tuesday.

THE Yangtze River Delta region recorded more than 4 million railway trips during the sevenday Spring Festival holiday, 10 percent more than last year, China Railway Shanghai Group officials said yesterday.

Ridership peaked on Wedneday when almost 1.1 million trips were made, up almost 70 percent from last year. A total of 198 additional trains were put into operation across the region during the holiday to accommodate the passenger surge. Since chunyun — the annual Spring Festival travel rush — began on January 28, more than 14 million railway trips have been recorded in the region.