The number of Hongkongers receiving their fourth coronavirus jab has risen more than fourfold in the past week, with about 81 per cent of them opting for the Omicron-specific vaccine available since last Thursday.
The government announced on Wednesday that more residents would be eligible for the BioNTech bivalent shots, which contain components of the original coronavirus strain and Omicron one. The bivalent vaccine was made available last Thursday to uninfected adults as a fourth dose and recovered individuals as a third dose. The Chinese-made Sinovac shots are also being offered, along with the original doses made by Germany’s BioNTech.
Official statistics show 47,742 people were given a fourth shot in the week up to Wednesday, compared with 9,232 sevens days earlier. Among them, 38,654 received the bivalent vaccine. The number of residents who have received a fourth dose now stands at more than 632,000.
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As Beijing eases Covid-19 rules, experts say Hong Kong should follow suit
Authorities have ordered 1.9 million shots of the BioNTech bivalent vaccine so far, with the first batch of 770,000 arriving in the city on November 25.
Starting from Friday, adults can book appointments for the new vaccine as their third dose, or second dose if they were previously infected, after experts from the city’s scientific committees earlier recommended the jab be made available to the wider population.
Beginning December 16, residents aged 18 or older who had taken four doses can book a fifth dose of either the bivalent vaccine or the two original vaccines. The same is being offered for previously infected adults with three doses and who received the last shot or recovered more than six months ago seeking a fourth dose.
Respiratory specialist Dr Leung Chi-chiu appealed to elderly people and other high-risk groups including those living in care homes, as well as those who were immunocompromised or suffering from chronic diseases, to receive a fourth shot given a rebound in Covid-19 cases.
“A fourth jab is mainly to prevent hospitalisation, severe illness and death,” he said.
Leung noted the new shots provided better protection and recommended them as a booster shot, but he did not feel a fourth jab should be made compulsory at the moment. The booster shot was mainly effective in preventing individuals from developing severe or fatal symptoms, rather than preventing virus transmission in the community, he said.
Government pandemic adviser Professor David Hui Shu-cheong recommended a booster jab for adults six months after their previous shot, while the time period for the elderly or immunocompromised was three months.
University of Hong Kong microbiologist Dr Ho Pak-leung told a radio programme the government should encourage residents older than 60 to receive a fourth jab as soon as possible.
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The health expert warned that 95 per cent of the city’s virus-related fatalities last month involved people aged above 60. The pandemic situation both locally and overseas indicated vaccine effectiveness was diminishing in terms of preventing serious or fatal symptoms among the elderly, he added. Protection offered by shots using an inactivated version of the virus started to fade three months after inoculation, he warned.
Ho added that 700,000 elderly people were eligible to receive a fourth dose but had yet to get one.
Hong Kong on Wednesday reported 11,981 Covid-19 infections, 703 of which were imported, and 22 additional deaths, bringing the city’s total tally to 2,189,417 cases and 10,864 fatalities.
More from South China Morning Post:
- ‘It’s like being in prison’: unvaccinated Hongkongers warn of social isolation, health struggles after 20,000 Covid jab exemptions voided
- Coronavirus: mainland China’s easing should spur Hong Kong to ask for border reopening, business leaders and health experts say
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