Coronavirus Vaccine

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Coronavirus vaccine FAQs including the latest timetable for vaccine rollout and vaccine efficacy data plus news and updates on research into a vaccine to combat coronavirus which has infected tens of millions of people and led to the deaths of more than three million around the globe.

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News
East Asia
People wearing face masks cross a street in Tokyo last month. Photo: AFP
East Asia
Covid deaths in Japan hit record high as fears mount for ‘super-ageing society’
Designated Covid hospitals were overwhelmed by a winter wave that started in October, leading to thousands of patients being turned away multiple times.
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A worker holds a swab at a CDC Covid-19 variant testing site at Los Angeles International Airport on January 9. Photo: Bloomberg
United States & Canada
Biden to end US Covid-19 emergencies in May
The move will shift the development of vaccines and treatments away from the direct management of the federal government, and could see the costs of coronavirus jabs skyrocket.
Jeff Zients, a former White House pandemic policy coordinator. Photo: Reuters
United States & Canada
Biden expected to name Jeff Zients as chief of staff
Jeff Zients ran the administration’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic at the start of Joe Biden’s term.
Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine may be linked to stroke. Photo: dpa
United States & Canada
Coronavirus: New Covid vaccine could be linked to stroke, US finds
A database has uncovered a possible safety issue in which people 65 and older are more likely to have a stroke 21 days after the shot – the FDA says more investigation is needed.
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Sales manager Masaki Nagayama works at his store, a clothes shop featuring Japanese firefighter organisation of the Edo era.The Japanese government is considering no longer asking the public to wear masks indoors in principle unless they have symptoms. Photo: Reuters
East Asia
Japan mulls end to indoor mask-wearing
The policy change, which could come as early as spring, has been floated as the government discusses downgrading Covid-19 ’s legal status to the same level as seasonal influenza.
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A patient receives a dose of the bivalent vaccine at a private clinic in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Sam Tsang
Health & Environment
Non-Hong Kong residents will not get free Covid-19 vaccines, but can pay for it
City to stop giving visitors free jabs from next week to make sure it has enough doses for residents as demand for vaccines increases.
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Mainlanders booking with Fosun’s online platform can receive their Omicron-targeting jab from next week. Photo: Reuters
Health & Environment
Chinese distributor offers bivalent jabs in Hong Kong to mainlanders from next week
Bivalent BioNTech jab services offered on platform operated by Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group, which includes 299 yuan booking fee.
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Passengers arrive at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on Friday. Photo: AFP
Southeast Asia
‘One family’: Thailand ministers welcome Chinese tourists with flowers
High-profile event shows the importance the Thai government places on wooing back visitors from China.
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The city has so far resisted requiring mainland Chinese visitors to be fully vaccinated. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
Health & Environment
Hong Kong government advisers ‘split’ over vaccine requirement for travellers
Source says half of city’s pandemic advisers agreed earlier this week two-dose vaccination rule should apply to arrivals from mainland.
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Residents are rushing to get their next Covid-19 vaccine doses amid a surge in local cases and plans by authorities to restore quarantine-free travel with mainland China. Photo: Jelly Tse
Health & Environment
20,000 Hongkongers per day getting jabs, with experts citing outbreak concerns
Rise in daily vaccine uptake marks sharp increase from 2,000 recorded early last month, with jump beginning when Hong Kong announced Covid policy rollback.
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Patients lie on beds and stretchers in a hallway of a hospital’s emergency department in Shanghai on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters
World
China Covid data shows no new variant but under-reports deaths, WHO says
The UN agency was releasing information provided by the Chinese CDC, a day after its officials had a meeting with Chinese scientists.
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Passengers on a flight from China wait to have their Covid-19 vaccination documents checked after arriving at the Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport on Sunday. Photo: AFP
Europe
‘Overwhelming majority’ of EU wants Covid tests on passengers from China
Officials will meet again on Wednesday to decide what coordinated measures will be applied across the bloc in wake of China lifting its zero-Covid policy.
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People in the emergency department of a hospital in Beijing on Tuesday. Cities across China have struggled with surging Covid infections. Photo: AFP
China
EU offers China free Covid-19 vaccines as infections surge
China has yet to respond, said European Commission; it did not say how many jabs it was offering.
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A shelf empty of painkillers and cold and flu medicine in a Kowloon Bay shop on December 27. Some Hongkongers have been snapping up fever and pain-relief drugs for their relatives and friends over the border, which has caused shortages at some pharmacies. Photo: Edmond So
Opinion
Opinion|Don’t let old mainland frictions haunt Hong Kong’s new normal
Unhappiness about painkillers being sent to the mainland amid a local shortage and mainlanders looking for vaccines in Hong Kong risk raising cross-border distrust. The government must defuse these tensions quickly.
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Infectious disease experts are worried about the rise of Covid-19 Omicron subvariant XBB in the United States. Photo: AFP
United States & Canada
Coronavirus: concerns about 40 per cent of US cases caused by XBB subvariant
Although there is concern about Covid-19 cases in China, infectious disease experts are increasingly worried about the XBB variant in the US – ‘probably the worst variant that the world is facing right now’.
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Italy was the first European country to impose restrictions on travellers from China. Photo: AFP
Diplomacy
Spain joins Italy in placing new curbs on Chinese travellers
South Korea also announced that it will limit flights and suspend applications for tourist visas from China
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Washington may impose new travel restrictions on travellers from China over ‘lack of transparent data’, according to reports. Photo: AP
Diplomacy
Could US Covid restrictions on travellers from China raise tensions further?
Washington may impose new travel restrictions on China over ‘lack of transparent data’, according to a statement.
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Primovir and Paxista are Indian-made generic versions of Pfizer’s Paxlovid. Photo: Handout
Politics
Chinese turn to black market for generic Indian Covid-19 drugs
Limited supply and steep price of the two approved antivirals are driving many Chinese to opt for cheaper but illegal imports from India.
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Travellers in Hong Kong wait to cross the border to enter mainland China. Photo: Sam Tsang
Health & Environment
‘Hong Kong must ensure it can handle Covid wave after border reopening’
City leader John Lee pledges that travel will return in safe, gradual manner.
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People waiting to receive a Covid-19 vaccine at a community centre. Photo: Edmond So
Health & Environment
Private sector medicine doubts viability of paid-for Hong Kong Covid vaccination
Private Hospitals Association says ‘little incentive’ for the sector to acquire vaccines for sale to patients.
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A batch of BioNTech vaccines against Covid-19 is on its way to China. Photo: DPA
Politics
China accepts first foreign Covid-19 vaccines in deal with Germany
BioNTech shots will be made available to German citizens after an agreement reached during last month’s visit to Beijing by Olaf Scholz.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a meeting in Beijing with the European Council earlier this month. Photo: Reuters
Europe
Germany should help China-EU ties develop, says Xi
Chinese leader and German president spoke by phone on Tuesday; Xi said China hopes Europe will accept that China-EU relations are ‘not subject to a third party’.
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In Macau, mainland tourists can receive the vaccine targeting the original strain of Covid-19. Only local residents qualify for the bivalent vaccine targeting new variants. Photo: Winson Wong
Politics
Mainland Chinese head to Macau to get mRNA vaccine unavailable at home
Macau has lifted restrictions on vaccinations for short-stay visitors and is offering the BioNTech shot for a fee .
169
Residents line up to enter the fever clinic of a hospital in Beijing amid a surge in coronavirus cases. Photo: AP
Politics
China based Covid U-turn on big economic, social picture, top adviser says
Epidemiologist says public health was not the only factor at play in the central government’s decision to abandon zero-Covid restrictions.
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Beijing has rolled back the country’s coronavirus restrictions following earlier protests in key cities across the mainland. Photo: Bloomberg
Health & Environment
1 million deaths if mainland opens without Covid measures: Hong Kong study
If country reopens fully between December and next January, healthcare systems across all provinces will be unable to handle infection surge, study says.
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The city announced its biggest easing of its Covid-19 precautions since the start of the pandemic. Photo: Yik Yeung-man
Health & Environment
What explains Hong Kong’s sudden switch to a ‘0+0’ Covid scheme?
City leader John Lee’s decision to lift a number of restrictions was undertaken without going through city’s key decision-making body, insiders say.
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A worker in protective gear stands at the fever clinic at a hospital in Beijing on Wednesday. Photo: Bloomberg
World
China’s Covid spike not due to lifting of restrictions, WHO director says
Coronavirus infections were already exploding before Beijing’s shift on its strict zero-Covid policy, emergencies director Mike Ryan says.
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Opinion
Editorial|End of Hong Kong isolation does not mean goodbye to vaccines and masks
Move comes as city’s hybrid immunity from Covid-19 jabs and previous infection grows, but there are still health measures to follow.
SCMP Editorial
21
Editorial|Communication in Hong Kong key to ‘living with virus’
Accurate information and clear messaging from the authorities vital if city’s people are to soldier on.
SCMP Editorial
1
The View|How China can prevent a Lunar New Year Covid-19 surge among rural elderly
Unlike in cities, it’s not too late for a phased reopening of rural China, where under-resourced healthcare means the elderly face greater risks from visitors. This Spring Festival, staying away from your loved ones until they are fully vaccinated may be the greatest act of love.
Winston Mok
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Editorial|As mainland China reopens, Hong Kong offers some valuable lessons
City’s painful experience can help authorities across the border plan safeguards and manage the risks that come with living with the virus.
SCMP Editorial
4
Editorial|China needs support of people to declare victory over virus
Beijing has to take public feeling and science into account following protests against stringent anti-Covid measures in several cities.
SCMP Editorial
1
Macroscope|China must keep its resolve to ease Covid-19 rules
Markets may start bottoming out on the news but investors should pay more attention to what the government does, than what it says. True challenge is in implementation, given China faces its most severe outbreak in months.
Aidan Yao
Editorial|Decision in fake jab papers case shows courts in rude health
Go-ahead for judicial review of move by administration illustrates how checks and balances designed to ensure good governance are still working
SCMP Editorial
1
Editorial|Hong Kong flu warning must be met with jabs uptake
As well as keeping up its fight against Covid-19, Hong Kong should prepare for arrival of deadly seasonal threat.
SCMP Editorial
Editorial|Claiming that the pandemic is over is both premature and risky
Making such a claim without scientific backing risks increasing resistance to further needed funding, the possible withdrawal of free testing and an end to the critical reporting of Covid cases.
SCMP Editorial
10
Editorial|The public is right to question exemptions for Hong Kong vaccine pass rule
Mainland China, Macau and Taiwan may have low rates of infection but visitors from those places are not entirely immune from catching or spreading the coronavirus.
SCMP Editorial
6
Editorial|Kong Kong’s pandemic fatigue no excuse to ignore call for vaccinations
False sense of security among some people is so strong that not only do they shun jabs, but also do not bother to get medication when they fall ill.
SCMP Editorial
4
Editorial|Hong Kong cannot afford to be complacent over jabs as concerns rise
Immunisation offers the best protection against a constantly evolving coronavirus and authorities must be alert to the latest vaccine developments.
SCMP Editorial
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