Pfizer Vaccine Inoculation Starts Next Week
Distrust in Sinovac Vaccine Spreads...Reports of Side Effects Emerge
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-woo] As Hong Kong has started accepting reservations for Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine and is set to begin vaccinations next week, inquiries about reservations at various vaccination centers across Hong Kong have surged. Previously, after administering the Sinovac vaccine in Hong Kong, there have been numerous complaints about side effects, which is believed to have led to many citizens seeking to receive the Pfizer vaccine. There are even rumors that Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, received the Pfizer vaccine instead of Sinovac.
According to the South China Morning Post on the 2nd, the Hong Kong government began accepting reservations for the Pfizer vaccine starting from the 3rd and plans to start vaccinations next week. Last weekend, an initial shipment of 585,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine was delivered to Hong Kong, and the government plans to administer 140,000 doses during the week starting on the 8th, SCMP reported. According to Ming Pao, reservations for the Pfizer vaccine at 18 COVID-19 vaccination centers in Hong Kong are fully booked through the vaccination date of the 27th.
The reason Hong Kong citizens are flocking to the Pfizer vaccine is due to ongoing reports of side effects from the Sinovac vaccine, which began administration last week. According to the Hong Kong Apple Daily, on the 28th of last month, four people who received the Sinovac vaccine at a vaccination center set up in the Hong Kong Central Library reported adverse symptoms, including a 39-year-old man who was hospitalized due to dizziness and convulsions. The other three experienced elevated blood pressure, palpitations, and dizziness but were discharged after medical examination. Additionally, a 72-year-old man vaccinated at another center was hospitalized due to palpitations.
Hong Kong health authorities have stated that these are not side effects caused by the vaccination, but citizens remain skeptical. On the contrary, rumors have spread on social media that Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, also received the Pfizer vaccine instead of Sinovac. According to SCMP, since Lam publicly received the Sinovac vaccine on the 22nd of last month, rumors have circulated on social media claiming that "the syringe used by the government differs from the Sinovac vaccine shown so far" and that "she actually received Pfizer's mRNA vaccine, not China's inactivated vaccine." In response, Hong Kong health authorities explained, "Sinovac vaccine is stored in two ways: in vials or syringes. The vaccine administered this time was in a vial, not a syringe," clarifying that the syringe shape is irrelevant. However, the rumors are reportedly continuing to spread.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
