Hong Kong’s health secretary says she is confident all residents will be offered Covid vaccines by the end of 2021.
The city has signed agreements to get more than enough doses for its population, Hong Kong Secretary of Food and Health Sophia Chan told CNBC’s “Capital Connection” on Tuesday.
In response to a question about when Hong Kong could achieve herd immunity, Chan said authorities are still measuring the response to vaccinations, as well as observing the delivery hiring schedule. It did not provide a chronology for when the city could reach the immunity of the herd, a situation in which there are enough people in the population who have been immunized against a disease, so it effectively ceases to spread unbridled. .
“We’re pretty sure that by the end of the year … everyone in Hong Kong will have a chance to get (their) vaccination,” he said.
Chan added that more than 22 million doses of Covid vaccines have already been ordered.
Hong Kong has a population of about 7.5 million and began developing its vaccine in late February. It has signed agreements to buy vaccines from China’s Sinovac Biotech, the European Oxford-AstraZeneca, as well as one supplied by Shanghai-based Fosun Pharma and its partner, German pharmacist BioNTech.
Customers buy fresh vegetables at a Hong Kong street market store on March 8, 2021.
Anthony Wallace | AFP | Getty Images
Chan said people seem “quite enthusiastic” about getting vaccinated so far, but acknowledged that they are still developing it in phases and that it is not yet available to the entire population.
He also said experts review the causes of adverse events, such as at least two deaths after vaccination.
“Our scientific committee initially provided information that has nothing to do with vaccination. That is, they do not find any direct causation with vaccination,” he said.
Separately, Chan thought about when Hong Kong would release its coronavirus restrictions and said city authorities will be “very careful” in doing so.
He said the situation remains “a bit unstable” because unrelated cases are still reported despite new cases being low.
“We want to really contain … and cut the transmission chains in a community because we don’t want any clusters to come out,” he said.
On Tuesday, Hong Kong reported 21 new cases, bringing the total number of infections to at least 11,121, according to the health authority there.