(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong is set to grant emergency approval for the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE coronavirus vaccine, the South China Morning Post reported, citing an unidentified government source.
The move would mark the first approval for any Covid-19 vaccine in the city, and clear the way for inoculations to begin as the city seeks to stamp out a winter outbreak. The vaccine could be approved by the government this week, the SCMP report said.
The approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot is likely to soothe residents who have seen places like mainland China and Singapore kick off vaccination drives earlier. While Hong Kong’s coronavirus cases haven’t risen drastically compared to global cities like London and New York, strict social distancing rules like the closure of schools and some businesses are in place.
Hong Kong Leaders ‘Not in a Hurry’ to Roll Out Covid-19 Vaccines
The former British colony announced on Dec. 11 that it intends to purchase 7.5 million doses of the mRNA vaccine, which data indicate has a 95% protection rate against Covid-19. Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. secured rights from Germany-based BioNTech in March to develop and market the mRNA shot across mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
The city is expected to receive some of the shots in February, government advisers earlier told Bloomberg.
The Asian financial hub has purchased enough doses -- including from Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and AstraZeneca Plc -- to cover its 7.5 million residents, and plans to offer people a choice of which vaccine they’ll take.
Advisors to the Hong Kong government say that a slower rollout is out of caution. That stance -- shared by many Asia-Pacific economies -- may seem strange given the urgency to resume normal life, but low infection rates mean that Asian governments are able to wait to see how the unprecedented vaccination drives play out elsewhere.
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