Addressing yesterday’s weekly press conference about Macau’s novel coronavirus situation, Tai Wa Hou, the coordinator of the Health Bureau’s (SSM) COVID-19 vaccination programme, announced that the government’s free COVID-19 inoculations for non-resident workers will start tomorrow with China’s Sinopharm inactivated jabs, while their inoculations with Germany’s BioNTech mRNA shots will start on Sunday.
According to Tai, non-resident workers can start to make an online appointment at 9 a.m. today to get their COVID-19 jabs.
Macau’s number of non-resident workers stood at 175,778 at the end of January, according to data from the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL).
Macau’s COVID-19 vaccinations are currently carried out at two inoculation facilities at the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre, eight public health centres and two public health stations. The government’s 12 COVID-19 vaccination facilities run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, where 5,000 places for COVID-19 vaccinations are available per day.
The government’s COVID-19 vaccination drive started on February 9 with Sinopharm jabs covering those in priority groups such as those working on the frontline against COVID-19 and those working in occupations that are subject to a high COVID-19 risk. Inoculations for all local residents started on February 22. The government’s inoculations with BioNTech vaccines started on Wednesday last week.
Currently, one of the two inoculation facilities at the public hospital – the blood sample collection room – is designated only for the BioNTech inoculations, while the other 11 vaccination facilities, namely the other inoculation facilities at the public hospital – the outpatient department, the eight public health centres and the two public health stations, are earmarked for the administration of Sinopharm jabs only.
2 more facilities for BioNTech jabs
Tai also announced yesterday that two more of the current 12 COVID-19 vaccination facilities will be used only for the BioNTech inoculations from Sunday, namely the Ilha Verde Health Centre and the Ocean Gardens Health Centre, in addition to the public hospital’s blood sample collection room. The other nine vaccination facilities will continue to be used for the Sinopharm inoculations.
Tai also said that 1,000 places out of the currently available 5,000 places for inoculations per day at the government’s 12 COVID-19 vaccination facilities will be allocated to non-resident workers initially after tomorrow’s start, because of which 4,000 places will then be available for local residents per day.
Tai noted that since the launch of the government’s COVID-19 vaccination drive, on average 1,000 to 2,000 residents per day have had their jabs, adding that therefore the current number of places for inoculations is sufficient.
Among the 1,000 to 2,000 residents getting COVID-19 jabs per day on average, 400 to 500 per day have chosen BioNTech jabs, according to Tai.
21,840 have had their 1st jabs
Tai said that since the launch of the vaccination drive, as of 4 p.m. yesterday a total of 49,258 had made an appointment to be inoculated against the novel coronavirus, comprising 43,067 who chose Sinopharm jabs and 6,191 who preferred BioNTech shots. Among the 49,258 who had made an appointment, 21,840 have had their first jab already, comprising 19,771 who opted for Sinopharm jabs and 2,069 who chose BioNTech shots, Tai said.
Tai said that so far no cases of serious adverse events after having been inoculated against COVID-19 have been reported. Since the launch of the vaccination drive last month, 24 cases of minor adverse events have been reported, comprising 21 cases after Sinopharm jabs and three cases after BioNTech shots, Tai said.
The government’s free COVID-19 vaccination drive covers local residents, non-resident workers and non-local students enrolled in Macau. However, other non-locals such as the family members of non-resident workers employed in Macau will have to pay 250 patacas per jab – which means that they will have to pay 500 patacas to be vaccinated against COVID-19 considering that each person requires two jabs. Participation in the vaccination drive is on a voluntary basis.
Seniors’ health has to be assessed for both Sinopharm and BioNTech jabs
Tai also noted that now regardless of choosing Sinopharm jabs or BioNTech shots, all those aged 60 or over have to pass a questionnaire to assess their state of health on the government’s COVID-19 vaccination online appointment system, as otherwise they will not be able to make an appointment for their COVID-19 jabs.
Tai also pointed out that those aged 60 or over can only get vaccinated against COVID-19 at one of the two inoculation facilities at the public hospital. After successfully making an online appointment, those aged 60 or over will still have to undergo an assessment of their state of health by medical workers at the inoculation facilities, Tai said, adding that they will only be allowed to get their COVID-19 jabs after passing the assessment.
Macau has not recorded a new COVID-19 case for 30 days, while no local case has been confirmed in 344 days.
Macau has recorded 48 COVID-19 cases since January 22 last year, 46 of which have been classified as imported, while two cases have been classified as “connected to imported cases”. Among the 48 patients, 47 have been cured and discharged from hospital, and no fatalities have been reported in Macau.
Tai Wa Hou, the coordinator of the Health Bureau’s (SSM) COVID-19 vaccination programme, addresses yesterday’s press conference about the city’s novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. Photo: GCS
