Hong Kong defends its approval process for Covid-19 vaccines as neighbouring Macau celebrates arrival of first batch from mainland
- Macau’s health chief says it will begin administering Sinopharm jabs on Tuesday, despite a lack of Phase 3 clinical data
- Hong Kong authorities and advisers, meanwhile, insist the city will not cut corners in its own approval process for expediency’s sake
In a ceremony welcoming the arrival of the mainland-produced Sinopharm jabs, Macau’s health chief announced that the city would commence vaccination for priority groups, including medical staff, starting on Tuesday. In light of the lack of comprehensive Phase 3 data on the vaccine, he also vowed to get the first jab himself as a display of his faith in the drug.
“I am confident in the vaccines,” said Dr Lei Chin-ion, director of Macau’s Health Bureau. “And soon after the medics get vaccinated around the Lunar New Year, we will open for public registration.”
Hong Kong, meanwhile, is still waiting for Sinovac – another mainland-based vaccine manufacturer from which it has secured 7.5 million doses – to provide more clinical information so its product can be approved. Local health authorities have also insisted it provide data published in an international journal for assessment, but Sinovac has said it would take more time to compile all the necessary information for peer review.
In light of the delay, the government said in a statement on Friday night that Sinovac would provide its raw Phase 3 data from Brazil – the same set it recently submitted to the WHO – so the expert panel could begin its assessment while waiting for the peer-reviewed research. Peer review, the statement noted, would indicate a higher level of objectivity in the results, and acceptance by the broader scientific community.