People line up for the COVID-19 vaccination at a community vaccination center in south China's Hong Kong, Feb 26, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
Hong Kong has given the green light for the use of Moderna Inc’s bivalent COVID-19 vaccine in the city.
At present, two drug manufacturers — Fosun Pharma and Sinovac — have obtained approval from the Hong Kong government to supply three types of COVID vaccines to Hong Kong's private market
The company said on Wednesday the approval by the special administration region’s Department of Health offers the public an additional mRNA COVID-19 vaccine option, strengthening protection against the mainstream Omicron variant virus. It said the bivalent vaccine will be available in the SAR as soon as possible.
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Bivalent COVID-19 vaccines have a formulation of two virus strains — the original virus and Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.
At present, two drug manufacturers — Fosun Pharma and Sinovac — have obtained approval from the Hong Kong SAR government to supply three types of COVID vaccines to Hong Kong's private market.
The Comirnaty bivalent vaccine was the first such vaccine to be approved for use in Hong Kong. It was introduced to the SAR in December last year for use by eligible residents aged 12 or above. About 530,000 Hong Kong residents had received the bivalent vaccine as of May 3 this year.
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So far, about 85.4 percent of Hong Kong people, aged 12 or above, have received three COVID-19 jabs, with 1.13 million and 87,319 others having received their fourth and fifth doses, respectively.
Contact the writer at mikegu@chinadailyhk.com