HKSAR gov't to donate 7.5 mln doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to COVAX

HONG KONG, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region(HKSAR) government said Tuesday it had reached a tripartite agreement with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the drug manufacturer AstraZeneca on the donation of 7.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to the COVAX Facility (COVAX).

The vaccines donated by the HKSAR government to the COVAX will be donated to COVAX Advance Market Commitment Eligible Economies. The 7.5 million doses will be delivered before the second quarter of 2022 by shipments in batches.

Hong Kong has procured and authorized a total of 15 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine and the Comirnaty vaccine for emergency use. Under a two-dose regime, the procured quantity is sufficient for vaccination by the entire Hong Kong population, according to a statement released by the HKSAR government.

"While donating the AstraZeneca vaccine to COVAX, the HKSAR government will maintain our participation in COVAX for access to other types of vaccines which cannot be otherwise procured through bilateral purchase agreements. However, we will only exercise our right to make the purchase after carefully considering the needs of Hong Kong, the scientific evidence on the vaccines, etc," the government spokesman said.

"As of Oct. 11, over 67 percent of the public have received the first dose vaccine. We will continue to press ahead with the vaccination of target groups, particularly the elderly who are over 70 years of age to protect them from serious illness if they were infected and at the same time to build a protective shield in Hong Kong.

"Furthermore, we will consider experts' advice and make reference to international experiences and overseas practices, and continue our discussion with drug manufacturers on the purchase of vaccine booster doses or next-generation vaccines which can better address variants of concern," the spokesman added.