Coronavirus: more vaccination venues to be opened for young children, Hong Kong civil service chief says, as city logs 4,376 cases

Hong Kong will open more venues for babies and toddlers to receive Covid-19 jabs, the minister in charge of the inoculation drive has said, as health experts urged the government to purchase the BioNTech formula for toddlers to encourage vaccination of the city’s youngest residents.

A week after the age threshold for the China-made Sinovac vaccine was lowered from three years to six months, Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan on Thursday said authorities were still negotiating for the German-produced BioNTech vaccine to be made available to children equally as young.

Yeung urged parents to have their children inoculated with Sinovac, but stopped short of setting a target for the demographic.

“I know parents want to have choices, but experts have said Sinovac is safe. I hope that parents will get their children vaccinated to protect them as early as possible,” Yeung told a radio programme, without revealing the progress of the BioNTech talks.

“Our aim is to get [the vaccination rate] as high as possible,” Yeung said when asked if she would set a target.

Hong Kong confirmed 4,376 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, 196 of which were imported, and one related death. The city’s Covid-19 tally stands at 1,402,296 cases and 9,555 fatalities.

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In addition to community vaccination centres and private clinics, authorities would also provide inoculation services at the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital and a vaccination centre at Tsing Yi MTR station starting next Monday, the minister said.

Parents can also take their children to maternal and child health centres operated by the Department of Health for jabs during regular check-ups from mid-August.

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Government health experts unanimously recommended extending vaccination to younger children earlier this month after a 22-month-old girl died from Covid-19.

As of Thursday morning, about 2,200 children between the ages of six months and three years old had received their first dose, Yeung said, accounting for about 2 per cent of the demographic. But the eligible age for the BioNTech vaccine remains five years as the existing formula for adults, which is available in the city, is not suitable for young children.

Dr Patrick Ip Pak-keung, of the University of Hong Kong’s paediatrics and adolescent medicine department, said BioNTech had a sufficient supply of jabs suitable for infants. Ip added that he understood authorities would take time to negotiate with the vaccine producer but hoped they could reach a purchase agreement soon.

Having an extra vaccine option would likely encourage more parents to inoculate their children, he told the Post, while urging parents not to wait for the arrival of BioNTech’s formula for infants and to book appointments for jabs before winter.

“Vaccination can reduce the risk of infants developing severe symptoms. It takes four months to complete the inoculation of three Sinovac doses to keep children protected,” he said. “As long as parents treat the Covid-19 vaccine as one of the commonly required vaccines, I believe it is possible for the infant vaccination rate to reach 50 to 60 per cent in the coming few months.”

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A number of infected infants had been hospitalised with symptoms of croup and shortness of breath, Ip said, with more young patients being treated with steroids as a result.

William Chui Chun-ming, president of the Society of Hospital Pharmacists, said BioNTech had assured him there was an adequate supply of the formula for young children, adding Singapore had bought it more than half a year ago.

A source familiar with vaccine supply told the Post the government was still discussing contract details with the German company.

Meanwhile, government pandemic advisers and two health expert panels said Covid-19 shots could be administered before, after or together with any other jab, noting a 14-day interval would be sufficient if the recipients wished to follow up with a different vaccine.

Chui also suggested the government provide Covid-19 and influenza shots together at the same venue so parents need not make multiple bookings.

Separately, the exhibition industry urged health authorities to allow overseas arrivals to attend its events, even if they had been assigned an amber health code and were undergoing four days of “home medical surveillance” in the final phase of their “3+4” quarantine arrangement.

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Travellers with an amber code can go to work, attend school and enter shops, as well as take public transport. They are allowed entry into high-risk areas such as restaurants and schools only if they work or study there. But they currently cannot visit any exhibitions.

In a reply to the Post, the Health Bureau said the government was aware that some exhibitions might involve purely business activities and were not open to the public.

Authorities would consider whether there was scope to further facilitate such activities and continue to adjust control measures, it said.

“I think it is a positive response,” executive vice-chairwoman of the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Industry Association Wendy Lai said. “I think the government also hopes Hong Kong can resume these kinds of business activities as soon as possible.”

She added that more international buyers would be attracted to the city if pandemic control rules were eased further, while the industry itself had been implementing social-distancing measures to lower transmission risks.