Coronavirus: experts in Hong Kong recommend Sinovac vaccine be offered to 12-17 age group before younger children

Name: What is a Covid-19 booster shot? And who should get it?
Uploaded: 2021-11-19T06:19:17.000Z
Duration: 3 min 51 s
Description: What is a Covid-19 booster shot? And who should get it?

Professor Lau Yu-lung says gradual approach is preferable for giving vaccines to children

In another development, government reveals 1 million new doses of BioNTech vaccine have arrived in Hong Kong

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The Sinovac vaccine is safe and reliable for children, experts say. Photo: EPA-EFE

Elizabeth CheungandVictor Ting

Published: 2:19pm, 19 Nov 2021Updated: 11:32pm, 19 Nov 2021

Medical experts advising the Hong Kong government have recommended the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine be offered to the 12-17 age group before it is rolled out to younger children, while authorities revealed for the first time they have bought an extra 1 million doses of the BioNTech shot.

The Centre for Health Protection’s joint scientific committee made the call on Friday, after an advisory panel on Covid-19 vaccines earlier in the week endorsed lowering the minimum age for receiving the Chinese-made Sinovac shot from 18 to three years old.

Professor Lau Yu-lung, chairman of the scientific committee on vaccine-preventable diseases, said giving shots to younger children for the first time had to be done in a gradual manner, taking into account parents’ worries.

“It could be the first time for parents and family members of primary and kindergarten pupils to learn about vaccination for smaller children,” Lau said. “We will need to listen to the concerns of those parents.”

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What is a Covid-19 booster shot? And who should get it?

He called it a “natural progression” to move on gradually from secondary school pupils to those in kindergartens, saying the decision made “a lot of sense”.