Coronavirus: Hong Kong advisory panel recommends booster jab for those fully inoculated with BioNTech vaccine

Booster shots have to date been available only to those in high-risk groups or who had chosen Chinese-produced Sinovac version

Airport cleaner, 64, tests preliminary-positive for Covid-19 and is suspected to be infected with more transmissible Omicron variant

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Eligible residents queue for BioNTech booster shots last month at the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sports Centre. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 3:48pm, 23 Dec 2021Updated: 11:35pm, 23 Dec 2021

Hong Kong residents who received their second dose of the BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at least six months ago should start getting booster shots even if they are not among high-risk groups, a government panel has said, as the coronavirus’ Omicron variant now accounts for about 80 per cent of imported infections.

Concerns grew on Thursday after an airport cleaner tested preliminary-positive for Covid-19, with the man, 64, suspected to be infected with the more transmissible Omicron as his viral samples carried two key mutations linked to the variant, pending genome sequencing. He worked in an airport toilet used for arrivals who had tested preliminary-positive.

The cleaner’s residential building at Siu Hei Court in Tuen Mun was locked down overnight on Thursday evening for mandatory Covid-19 testing of inhabitants.

In a bid to further strengthen the city’s defences against Omicron and potential future variants, the Centre for Health Protection’s joint scientific committee also recommended a second jab for adolescents aged 12 to 17 who were previously asked to take one dose of the German-made BioNTech vaccine.

An interval of 12 weeks between the two shots will be required for that age group to reduce the chances of myocarditis, a typically temporary condition involving inflammation of tissues around the heart.