The race to bring a COVID-19 vaccine to market in Hong Kong has taken a twist, as frontrunner Sinovac’s request to delay the release of data from its Phase 3 trial will likely mean the Chinese company’s jab doesn’t get rolled out in the city as scheduled next month, according to David Hui, an adviser to the government on the pandemic.

The Sinovac vaccine may not now arrive until February, the Chinese University of Hong Kong professor said, adding that the BioNTech/Fosun Pharma treatment may be the first to become available in Hong Kong.

Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan told public broadcaster RTHK today that the first batch of Sinovac vaccines would arrive next month at the earliest, and that she expected an announcement in the next two days on when the latest trial data would be released. The government would stay in active contact with the company, she said.

In response to Hui’s comments, Chan said it was too early to say which of the two vaccines would be first.

The BioNTech/Fosun vaccine needed to be kept at extremely low temperatures, which raised its own challenge, Chan said.

In terms of the rollout of vaccines, Chan said she envisioned that community vaccination centers would be set up, while private doctors may participate in the distribution of other vaccines.

Hongkongers would be able to make appointments online and would receive an electronic “card” signifying that they had been vaccinated.

Dr. Thomas Tsang, a member of the vaccine distribution task force, said that the delay in the Sinovac trial results may affect Hong Kong’s plans, but if other vaccines are approved on schedule, there will be enough doses for the first phase to proceed.

The Hong Kong government had placed enough orders to provide sufficient doses for the entire population, but priority would be given to the elderly, medical workers, those suffering from chronic illnesses and other high-risk groups, Tsang said. The vaccination plan does not yet include children, since the data from clinical trials focuses on adults.

Brazilian researchers said on Wednesday that the Sinovac jab was more than 50% effective, but full trial results have not been released at the company’s request.

Click here for Chinese version

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play