Coronavirus: Hong Kong approves use of BioNTech vaccine for children as young as 12 years old

Name: WHO approves Sinovac Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use
Uploaded: 2021-06-03T07:08:20.000Z
Duration: 1 min 30 s
Description: WHO approves Sinovac Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use

Details of vaccination arrangements will be announced early next week after health secretary Sophia Chan officially approves move

Nearly 60 per cent of Hongkongers support the mandatory vaccination of police officers, firefighters and other frontline workers, survey finds

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The government should offer more incentives to Hongkongers to get vaccinated, university researchers say. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Elizabeth Cheung

Published: 3:08pm, 3 Jun 2021Updated: 10:57pm, 3 Jun 2021

Children as young as 12 years old will be able to receive the BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in Hong Kong, the government has said, as the city marked 41 straight days without a local untraceable Covid-19 infection.

Details of vaccination arrangements would be announced early next week after Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee officially approved the move on Thursday.

The government’s advisory panel on Covid-19 vaccines had unanimously backed lowering the age limit from 16 for the German-made vaccine.

“[The health minister] considered that the benefits of lowering the age limit for receiving the Comirnaty vaccine outweigh the risks,” the Food and Health Bureau said in a statement, using the jab’s brand name. “Not only can it protect adolescents from Covid-19 infection, it can also enable them to resume normal school and daily life as soon as possible.”

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WHO approves Sinovac Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use

The expansion of the government’s vaccination drive meant that around 243,500 youngsters aged 12 to 15 would be eligible for the shots.