HONG KONG / XIANGAN /, February 27. / TASS /. The first batch of BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine, in excess of 500,000 doses, arrived in Hong Kong from Germany on Saturday. According to the South Chin Morning Post, the cargo was delivered by Cathay Pacific.
At the airport, he was greeted by local government officials in charge of the vaccination program. The drug was originally scheduled to arrive on Thursday, but was delayed due to protracted export procedures. The vaccine boxes will go to a special storage facility that allows you to maintain ultra-low temperatures.
On Friday, a mass vaccination campaign was launched in this special administrative region of China. At the first stage, pensioners, medical workers, and employees of important services will be able to get vaccinated free of charge. On the first day, 6 thousand out of 70 thousand people were vaccinated, who used the online booking system, forming a queue for two weeks.
The program participants have so far been offered only the Chinese drug CoronaVac from the pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech. The first batch of 1 million doses arrived from Beijing on 19 February. On February 22, the vaccine was given out of turn for Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam and her cabinet members.
In total, the authorities ordered 7.5 million doses of vaccines each from Sinovac Biotech, AstraZenec and BioNTech. The Shanghai pharmaceutical company Fosun Pharma is authorized to act as a distributor of the latest drug on the PRC market.
Over the past day, Hong Kong doctors have identified 24 new cases of coronavirus infection, including six imported ones. The total number of cases was 10,951, 198 patients died. Since February 18, gyms, beauty salons, cinemas and amusement parks have reopened in the city. However, bars, nightclubs, karaoke rooms and swimming pools remain closed for now.
