Hong Kong to start administering COVID-19 bivalent vaccine from today

A nurse prepares a syringe of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID 19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Garlan, western France on May 31, 2021. FRED TANNEAU AFP HONG KONG Eligible persons aged 12 or above can choose to receive the Comirnaty bivalent vaccine from December 1, and online reservations will open on Sunday from 9 am, the special administrative region government announced on Saturday.

The first batch of about 770,000 doses of Comirnaty Original Omicron BA was produced. 4 -- 5 bivalent vaccine by Fosun Pharma BioNTech was delivered to Hong Kong on Friday as arranged by Fosun Pharma.

The online booking system has been updated to provide options for eligible persons when making appointment due to the arrival of the vaccine.

READ MORE: HK health chief approves use of Comirnaty bivalent jab

Eligible persons aged 60 or above with same-day tickets can choose the type of vaccine to be administered on site.

Comirnaty bivalent vaccine can be used as an alternative to the fourth dose or the third dose for recovered persons aged 12 or above who are eligible under the current vaccination schedule, while the Sinovac or the BioNTech ancestral strain vaccine can still be used.

The BioNTech bivalent vaccine facilities include the Community Vaccination Centres, the Community Vaccination Stations, the Hospital COVID 19 Vaccination Stations, the designated general out-patient clinics of the Hospital Authority and the Private Clinic COVID 19 Vaccination Stations.

The BioNTech bivalent vaccine will only be provided to eligible persons in accordance with health authorities' guidelines, while those who have not been vaccinated or received the appropriate dose of vaccine will not be allowed to receive the bivalent vaccine, said Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung.

She said that the vaccine is a good way to maintain the protection it confers, and that the COVID- 19 vaccines available in Hong Kong are safe and effective.

As the protection provided by the vaccines will diminish over time, the government warned residents, particularly high-risk persons such as the elderly, not receiving suitable vaccine doses, to get the appropriate doses as soon as possible for self-protection.

After arriving at the first batch of bivalent vaccine on Friday, officials carried out stringent checks and inspections in accordance with established procedures to ensure the vaccine complies with the product specifications and that the transportation process followed the relevant cold-chain requirements, according to the government.

The vaccine will be stored in validated ultra-low temperature freezers to ensure its proper storage in accordance with the temperature specified by the drug manufacturer.

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Health officials will start providing the bivalent vaccine service to members of the public in early December.

The government has purchased 1.9 million doses of the Comirnaty bivalent vaccine from the manufacturer, and the remaining doses are expected to be transported to Hong Kong by the end of the year.