Hong Kong health experts say delay to AstraZeneca vaccine effort will not hinder government plans to secure Covid-19 shots

With so many other candidates in late development, the city has plenty of options, says Professor David Hui

Encountering side effects is expected during stage three trials of a drug, notes Professor Yuen Kwok-yung

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AstraZeneca and Oxford aim to enrol as many as 50,000 participants for late-stage trials of its vaccine candidate. Photo: AP

Published: 6:00pm, 10 Sep 2020Updated: 12:41am, 11 Sep 2020

The suspended testing of a leading experimental coronavirus vaccine in Britain is unlikely to affect Hong Kong’s procurement plans for shots, as many other candidates were in the final clinical phase, according to a government health adviser.

Professor David Hui Shu-cheong of Chinese University noted that the vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca in partnership with Oxford University was just one of nine in late-stage trials.

“It’s always common to have some problems during phase three clinical trials in which a vaccine is tested on more than a 100,000 people,” Hui said. “Only those companies that can survive till the end will win.”

Many companies are competing intensely to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, says Professor David Hui. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Hui is a member of the government’s scientific committee on vaccine-preventable diseases, responsible for tracking candidates in the final stage of development around the world.

Hong Kong has adopted a two-pronged approach to securing shots. Apart from buying directly from the manufacturers, the government has joined the global Covax Facility procurement mechanism managed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and two other platforms, Gavi and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. The programme is aimed at avoiding “vaccine nationalism” whereby wealthy countries snap up all doses once they become available.