Explainer | Covid-19 vaccine: how soon will the shots be available in Hong Kong and mainland, and what are the possible side effects?

A timetable for vaccination is yet to be fixed, but delivery of the first batch of 1 million jabs from Sinovac – originally expected in January – could be delayed

Chinese experts are developing mRNA, inactivated and nucleic acid-based vaccines, while more than 1.5 million people have already received the shots

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The first of millions of Covid-19 vaccine jabs are expected to arrive in Hong Kong in early 2021. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:30pm, 31 Dec 2020Updated: 2:36pm, 3 Jan 2021

After a year in which Covid-19 has infected thousands of Hongkongers, crippled an already faltering economy and changed day-to-day life in drastic fashion for most residents, 2021 brings hope in the form of vaccines set to arrive in the new year. As the city prepares to launch a mass-vaccination programme, the Post answers the most pressing questions surrounding it, from how well the available medications are performing, to when and how residents can obtain it, to possible side effects.

What Covid-19 vaccines will be available in Hong Kong?

Hong Kong has so far struck deals to purchase 22.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, with 7.5 million doses each coming from three suppliers: Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech; Fosun Pharma which offered the vaccine co-developed by Germany’s BioNTech and US-based Pfizer; and British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca.

Scientists from the University of Hong Kong, together with researchers in mainland China, are also developing a nasal spray vaccine against Covid-19, the first such medication approved for testing on humans.

When can I be vaccinated?

An exact timetable for the vaccination scheme has not yet been fixed. While the first batch of 1 million jabs from Sinovac were originally expected to arrive in January, that could be delayed, as the mainland drug maker had postponed the announcement of its phase 3 clinical data, which was first expected on December 23.