Coronavirus: Hong Kong confirms 15 new cases, expert says Sinovac vaccine safe for elderly in stable health condition
- Dr Thomas Tsang, a member of the government’s task force on the pandemic, says key is whether the aged with chronic illnesses have their conditions under control
- First 1 million doses of mainland China’s Sinovac vaccines landed in city on Friday, with mass drive to start next week
Earlier on Saturday, medical experts said senior citizens could still take the Sinovac vaccines if their health conditions were under control, but pregnant women and mothers who were breastfeeding were advised not to do so.
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Coronavirus Hong Kong: first Covid-19 vaccines land in city
“Many of the elderly have high blood pressure, diabetes or other chronic health problems. The key is whether you have controlled your conditions. If that’s the case, then you will have no problems getting vaccinated,” said Dr Thomas Tsang Ho-fai, a member of the government’s vaccination task force.
Tsang, formerly the controller of the Centre for Health Protection, told a radio programme that both the Sinovac and BioNTech vaccines were safe to use.
Residents could decide on their vaccine choices, he added, noting personally that he would simply choose which vaccine centre was closest to his house in Eastern district.