Coronavirus: Hong Kong residents will be offered second BioNTech shot once defects probe is complete, minister says amid vaccine suspension; city confirms 9 new Covid-19 cases

Health authorities also report a 59-year-old man died on Thursday after receiving BioNTech vaccine last week

Hong Kong confirms nine new Covid-19 cases, marks its first day without an untraceable infection for more than four months

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Hong Kong suspended its BioNTech vaccination roll-out on Wednesday. Photo: May Tse

Published: 1:09pm, 25 Mar 2021Updated: 9:52pm, 25 Mar 2021

Hongkongers who have already received their first shot under the city’s now-suspended BioNTech vaccination scheme will be given their booster jab straight after the investigation into packaging defects has concluded, a top official has pledged, without offering a timetable for the restart.

Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen, who oversees the city’s Covid-19 inoculation drive, on Thursday also said that communication surrounding the suspension was flawed, with the limited information available leading to public confusion.

His admission came as Hong Kong on Thursday confirmed nine more Covid-19 cases and marked its first day without an untraceable infection since mid-November last year. Four of the latest cases were locally transmitted, while the rest were imported.

Three of the local cases were tied to a superspreading cluster linked to Ursus Fitness gym in Sai Ying Pun, taking the size of that outbreak to 154. Fewer than 10 people tested preliminary-positive. The coronavirus tally now stands 11,428 cases, with 204 related deaths.

Health authorities also reported a 59-year-old man died on Thursday after receiving the BioNTech vaccine at Choi Hung Road Badminton Centre last week. Previously, 10 chronically ill people had died locally after receiving a jab – nine who took the Sinovac shot and one who had the BioNTech version. No direct link has been established between the vaccines and the fatalities.

Hikers found the man unconscious in Sai Kung and he later died in hospital. He did not complain of feeling unwell during observation at the vaccination centre.

Nip, meanwhile, said he could not set a timetable for the resumption of BioNTech injections because officials were still awaiting updates from the German manufacturer and its distribution agent Fosun Pharma.