Hong Kong Prepares to Vaccinate 36,000 People Daily With Pfizer-BioNTech Jab
- Sinovac, Astra shots will be sent to other hospitals, clinics
- Government may not inoculate elderly all at the same time
Hong Kong will set up 18 community vaccination centers -- one in every district -- to each handle at least 2,000 residents a day as the city prepares to administer the Covid-19 shot developed by BioNTech SE and Pfizer Inc. as early as the end of February.
These centers will only handle the BioNTech vaccine, while the other two shots the city has ordered -- from Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and AstraZeneca Plc -- will be distributed to private hospitals and clinics, according to Thomas Tsang, a member of Hong Kong’s vaccination program task force.
The separate distribution is to avoid mixing up the vaccines, as the BioNTech shot needs to be handled at colder temperatures than the others. Hong Kong will allow people to choose their vaccine, though Sinovac and AstraZeneca’s shots won’t be available immediately since they haven’t cleared the city’s regulatory process.
The details come as Hong Kong adopts a “very careful” inoculation approach, opting for a smooth rollout rather than a speedy one to avoid any problems with supplies or possible surge in hospitalization.