COVID19: Hong Kong suspends the use of Pfizer vaccine over defective bottle lids
The use of the Pfizer vaccine in Hong Kong was suspended on Wednesday after the city's Chinese distributor told the city that one batch of the vaccine had faulty bottle lids.
The suspension is effective immediately, according to the city government, while the matter is investigated by distributor Fosun Pharma and BioNTech, the German company that developed the vaccine with American pharmaceutical firm Pfizer.
BioNTech and Fosun Pharma have not found any reason to believe the product is unsafe, according to the statement. However, vaccinations will be halted as a preventive and safety measure.
The defective lids were found on vaccines from batch number 210102. A separate batch of vaccines, 210104, will also be not be administered.
Macao also said Wednesday that residents would not receive the Pfizer vaccinations from the affected batch.
BioNTech could not be immediately reached for comment.
Fosun Pharma said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange that it received notice from BioNTech regarding the packaging defects on Tuesday night and informed Hong Kong and Macao authorities on Wednesday to temporarily suspend the vaccines.
The suspension of the Pfizer jab means the only vaccine currently offered to residents is China’s Sinovac vaccine. The two vaccines are the only ones that were offered to residents in Hong Kong.
German expatriate Jannis Partsafas was among a group of people who received the Pfizer shot ahead of the suspension.
“I got vaccinated this morning at 8.30 a.m. before the news went public about the vaccine suspension, and heard the news when I was on my way home,” said 32-year-old Partsafas, who works in the sporting goods industry.
“I’m not very concerned about the safety, but I am worried that this may mean more people will turn down the option of getting vaccinated in Hong Kong which would impact herd immunity and the lifting of social-distancing measures,” he said.
At around 10.30 a.m., a line formed outside a community center in the city's Sai Ying Pun neighborhood for residents who had appointments to receive the Pfizer shots. When it became apparent that the vaccines would not be given, they finally left.
As of Tuesday at 8 p.m., 403,000 people had received vaccines in the city, with 150,200 receiving the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine and 252,800 receiving the Sinovac vaccine.
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